Love as a Foreign Language
by itsu-sual
Summary: How do you handle emotions like love when you're not supposed to have them? Or in this case, how does everybody else handle it for you? Eventual Megatron x Starscream.
1. Chapter 1

**Universe: **G1  
**Warnings: **One sided Megatron x Starscream, eventual Megatron x Starscream, abuse and violence a plenty, I suppose.  
**Comments: **My first new story in a while. Hope you like it!

**Love as a Foreign Language**

* * *

Soundwave trudged silently towards Megatron's quarters (deep in the Nemesis, always moving) with a sense of dread. The command had been short and agitated - come immediately, leave the cassettes behind, sever all mental links with them. From millions of years of experience, Soundwave knew _exactly_ what this entailed.

The communications officer didn't even have to knock on the door. Megatron stood in the doorway, imposing, silhouetted against the murky blue light flickering through the windows of his undersea quarters. One large black finger tapped against the doorframe irritably.

"It's worn off. _Again_," the tyrant hissed, red optics piercing through the shadows.

Soundwave suppressed a sigh, and shook his head hesitantly. "Suggestion; processor fighting against mental blocks. Suggestion; processor building own firewalls against mental blocks. Probability of suggested analysis; 99.7%."

"Then use stronger blocks! Change the way you make them or something!" Megatron snarled, voice raised in frustration, spinning on his heel back into his quarters with a flick of his wrist to indicate Soundwave should follow. Shoulders slumped ever so minutely, Soundwave complied, watching with unease as Megatron stormed over to his personal throne, throwing himself down like a spoilt child.

"I can't run an army with…with _this_ in my processor," he sighed, defeated. "Remind me again why we can't get Hook to just chop it out of my circuit board."

"Reminder; processor piece already taken out by force. Reminder; problem lies within spark. Spark; inoperable," Soundwave recited obediently, for what had to be the thousandth time.

Hunched over, with his face buried in his hands, Megatron heaved a burst of air through his vents. "Just…just put the blocks back."

"As you command." The communications' officer's visor flashed briefly as he summoned up his abilities, psychic tendrils reaching out and wrapping around Megatron's mind. The silver tyrant sank a little in his chair feeling the familiar tingle of mental probes, searching for the ever-moving problem. Soundwave's visor deepened in a frown - it was getting harder and harder to find, just as it managed to break down the mental blocks quicker and quicker.

Ah. There it was.

_Starscream._

* * *

Quietly, Soundwave shut the door to his quarters, hoping in vain that his sparklings would be sleeping. Which of course, they weren't - six pairs of optics were gazing up at him questioningly.

"Megatron; recharging. Problem; increasing," Soundwave announced, monotone softer than usual around his family.

"Did he notice that you hadn't blocked us from hearing you this time?" Ravage asked over their mental connection bluntly, the other cassetticons nodding in curiosity.

"Negative. Repeat; problem increasing." With a noise that passed for a groan from him, the tape-deck sloped towards his berth, scooping up the nearest sparkling to him (Rumble, this time) and holding them close.

"Puts a strain on ya, huh boss?" Rumble noted quietly, nuzzling against his creator's chest. Soundwave hummed, beckoning his other creations closer.

"What's the problem anyway? I don't understand!" the youngest of them, Ratbat, squeaked. "He likes Starscream. So what? We like Soundwave!"

"The big guy isn't supposed to be _able_ to…'like' at all, 'Batty," Frenzy explained. "His processor wasn't built for that - he can't handle love because he hasn't got the code. He's screwy. You gotta be, to lead the Decepticons." His twin snickered at this.

"So you just erase them?" Ratbat squealed in horror, baby eyes widening up at his creator.

"Negative. Erase; impossible. Feelings for Starscream; subdued. Hidden. Blocked," Soundwave corrected gently, placing a hand soothingly on Ratbat's wing.

"You cannot keep doing it," Ravage chided. "Eventually, it's not going to work anymore, and _then_ what? Besides, it's putting a strain on all of us. As soon as the blocks are in place, Megatron just acts even more violently towards Starscream out of resentment, who then tries to overthrow him even more, and then we all go round in a circle and we're _all_ dragged into their spats."

"Not to mention it's wearing you out, boss," Rumble added, petting Laserbeak's beak absently.

"Affirmative, facts redundant, already known!" Soundwave shot back in frustration. "Suggest solutions!"

Drawing himself up straight, as the oldest creation, Ravage spoke what had been on every cassetticon's mind. "It's time we bring Starscream into this."


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is a little shorter than the first. Sorry ^^;

* * *

For a moment, Megatron felt genuine worry that he had knocked Starscream's right optic out. That, in itself, was horrifying - _worry_, over the well-being of the very mech he was trying to beat to a pulp at that moment. Upon closer inspection, it had in fact been a chip from one of the red parts of Starscream's plating (Primus only knew which, since by this point almost all of him was dented and scratched and bruised.)

Starscream wasn't bothering with begging for mercy this time. That, too, brought a wave of paranoia over the silver tyrant - was he not punishing him hard enough? He slammed the battered air commander against the wall again for good measure, which brought with it a satisfying shriek, but little else.

"_Say_ something!" he roared, hand squeezed around Starscream's neck. The seeker tilted his face towards Megatron's with some effort, staring at him through cracked optics incredulously. Too late, the Decepticon commander realized how ridiculous it was trying to make Starscream speak while crushing his vocal chords, and let go of his lovely, bruised neck sligh-

…wait, _lovely?_

With a loud, hollow cry full of rage, Megatron flung Starscream across the room. This whole thing was getting out of hand. Megatron, the merciless Decepticon, the silver tyrant, the champion gladiator, the slayer of millions, did NOT use the word "lovely" to describe his treacherous second in command. Ever. Leaving Starscream upside down with half a leg jammed in a broken monitor, Megatron hurriedly scuttled out of the command centre to ponder this awful development (and hopefully find Soundwave - the communications officer had been avoiding him, he knew it).

Slowly, the store cupboard in the corner of the room opened, and Skywarp, Thundercracker, Blitzwing and Rumble peered out to inspect their damaged air commander. Thundercracker ventured out first, kicking on a thruster to attempt to peel Starscream off the main computer screens.

"What in the pit did you say to him _this_ time?" Blitzwing asked in disbelief. It had happened so fast the four of them had barely had time to run into the utility cupboard before a fusion cannon beheaded all of them.

"I…j-just…kzshchh…a-asked which…rrreportt he wanted ttto seekezkzzkz firsttt…" Starscream wheezed through static, optics glazed and dizzy as he was brought back to the ground of the command room by his wingmates.

"He's got some serious screws loose this week," Rumble commented, grinning in that I-know-something-you-don't-know way that Starscream would normally pick up on in an instant, had his optics not been cracked and his concern not been on trying keep from purging his tanks. "Did you guys see the look on his face when he walked out? The big boss looked all confused and worried!"

"J-just…ssssshut up and get-t H-hook…"

With an ungraceful clang, the air commander passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, I had 20 emails from all to do with this story! Thanks for all the reviews and everything, guys! :D

* * *

"I _swear_ to you, Hook, all I - gah! Be gentle with that! - said was 'which report do you want to see first?' and he just started punching me out of nowhere!"

Hook raised one side of his visor, looking up from the repairs on Starscream's back for a moment. "Starscream, you _never_ 'just ask which report he wanted to see first'. How many insults and threats did you mix into there this time?" He prodded an exposed circuit with the sharp end of a tool for emphasis.

"PRIMUS SLAG IT WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" shrieked the air commander, spinning around to glare at Hook. "I said _nothing_, Hook, _nothing_ except 'which report do you want to see first?'. I'd only been on my shift for two minutes!"

"Like how much of your shift has passed affects the amount of insults you throw his way," the medic snorted, voice dripping with sarcasm, before pushing his patient back on the berth to continue the repairs below his wing.

"In any case," Starscream began in classic-I-should-be-leader tone, "this is just more proof that _Megatron_ is utterly unfit to lead the Decepti-"

"Starscream, you have a visitor," Scavenger interrupted absently, and Hook applauded his brother over their gestalt bond for shutting the air commander up. The younger Constructicon shuffled past the repair berths, busy prodding at some newfound trinket, as Soundwave hesitantly entered the bay.

"Oh pit, not _you_," Starscream groaned. "If you were hoping to find me dead, you'll be disappointed to know that I'm very much alive."

"Starscream's rank; undesirable. Third in command; stable job," Soundwave droned, with only the slightest tinge of mockery colouring his monotone.

The air commander scrunched up his face in distaste with a pout while the communications officer ventured further into the room, seating himself on a repair berth opposite Starscream. Soundwave stared intently at the seeker, visor glinting for just a nanosecond as he attempted to reach into Starscream's mind. Unfortunately for the telepath, Starscream knew exactly what that glint meant, and raised his mental defences just as quickly, glaring at the tape-deck with indignation.

Hook looked between the two officers, who seemed to be having a staring contest. "Well…this is awkward…I'll just…leave you guys to it. Call Long Haul when you're done glaring at each other."

His superiors didn't move a servo as he backed out of the repair bay nervously. Soundwave was too busy studying Starscream's face, wondering what on Cybertron Megatron saw in him anyway. Yes, he was intelligent (when he wanted to be), yes, he was pretty (when he wasn't making ugly faces), but seekers were just so illogical and…noisy. Soundwave repressed a shudder, and sighed. It was time to be direct.

"Starscream; do you like Megatron?"

Utter silence fell over the room - even the life support systems and various other contraptions littering the place seemed to shut up in astonishment. The flier's optics widened in shock, mixed with a good amount of horror, before he opened his mouth - closed it again - opened it, and _shrieked_.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize 'ACT LIKE A MORON' day had come around again so soon!" he screeched in disbelief. Soundwave dampened his audio units protectively, grabbing out onto the window of opportunity that presented itself as Starscream's mental defences crumbled. "NO, you idiot! He just beat me to a pulp for asking which of _your_ inane reports he wanted to see first! And you ask me, 'do I like Megatron', WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! GET OUT!"

Soundwave stared at him blankly - he was far too busy trying to probe Starscream's unnecessarily complicated mind to hear what the seeker was saying.

"Didn't you hear me? GET OUT! GET THE SLAG OUT!" A null ray pointed at the telepath's face was all it took to wake the telepath from his concentration. Hurriedly, he raised his hands in mock surrender (an action he'd learnt off Rumble and Frenzy since coming to this planet), and walked backwards out the room slowly (no point giving Starscream a clear shot at his back in any situation).

As Soundwave crept back to his own quarters five storeys down, carefully avoiding Megatron's quarters for good measure, Starscream's screeches could still be heard.

* * *

"Boss. Beloved creator of mine. Father. Dad," Frenzy began poetically. "For _all_ your intelligence and logic, you have absolutely _no_ tact. Like, at all."

Soundwave looked down at his energon cube in defeat, letting out an unhappy drone. Ratbat waddled closer to his creator, draping his wings over Soundwave's lap.

"It was pretty silly, daddy," giggled the youngest of the cassetticons. "He'd only just been beaten up by him."

"Well, never mind," Buzzsaw squawked, landing on Soundwave's shoulder cannon. "At least you got a peek into his mind…didn't you?"

The telepath fidgeted in silence. Six pairs of red optics looked up at him, appalled. "You _didn't_ look in his head?!" Rumble yelled.

"Affirmative!" Soundwave protested. "But…negative…? Fliers; complicated. Minds; unorganized. Thoughts; too fast to read…"

The cassetticons groaned, sinking onto their shared berth. Rumble and Frenzy shook their heads in disappointment, while Ravage growled to himself ever so softly. Mournfully, Soundwave swirled his energon around in the cube, staring back at his own reflection. That vague buzz in his processor every time he drank this stronger mix wasn't helpi…

"Solution," he looked up suddenly, a wicked glint in his visor. "Rumble, Frenzy. Mission; get Starscream drunk."


	4. Chapter 4

Wooo I'm on fire! XD 4 chapters in less than 24 hours! It's so easy to write when you actually have an idea for once.

* * *

No, Megatron thought sullenly. He couldn't leave his quarters. Not like this.

Curled up on his berth rather pathetically, the silver tyrant rocked on his side a little. Every time he thought of the Decepticon air commander, it felt like space barnacles were crawling over him right into his spark chamber. These _feelings_ were so…disgusting! How could the others live with them? Who on Cyberton would willingly accept such vile programming?!

He whimpered. Where the pit was Soundwave anyway? 24 Earth hours, _only 24 hours_ and already the blocks had just melted away. The telepath had made them weak on purpose, he just knew it, and now he had the gall to avoid him! For the fifteenth time, he tried to hail the communications officer - but again, only static came through the link. Hmm. Maybe the cassetticons knew where their slagging creator was.

"Rumble! Frenzy! Soundwave spawn! Report!" he snapped into the general frequency line. For a while, silence, and he was about to give up before at last, he heard faint whispering.

"You talk to him!" hissed a voice.

"Frag off! You can talk to him, I don't want to lose an audio listening to him yelling!"

"RUMBLE! FRENZY!" roared the Decepticon commander, sitting up in his berth dramatically. "WHERE IS YOUR CREATOR? I CAN HEAR YOU THERE!"

With a petrified squeak, both of them chanted "Hail Megatron!" nervously into the comm.-link before Rumble began to ramble. "We…um…we don't know where Soundwave is! Maybe he went out for some fresh air! Nice day today, isn't it? Blue skies, those bird things are singing -"

"How can you not know where Soundwave is!? Don't you have some kind of link to your creator, you morons?" he yelled back.

"He, um, he dampens the link when we're on missions! Rumble and I are on a mission for…um, for Starscream!" Frenzy lied quickly.

"Mm…Starscream…" Megatron mumbled dreamily.

With which followed a very long, very awkward silence, before Megatron realized what he'd just done.

And _screamed_.

* * *

"Dude's got problems," Frenzy sniggered, tiny arms full of as many energon cubes as he could carry (which wasn't really that many).

"He should get his optics checked, forget everything else," Rumble grinned, "I mean, _Starscream_? Have you ever _seen_ such a garish paint job on a mech? And that voice, oh man! Can you imagine listening to that every day of your life? Even when you turn off your audios he'd screech at you through your bond!"

"Ewww…Megatron bonded," the other twin replied with a mock tank-purging noise.

"More like ewww, Starscream bonded," Rumble corrected. The two looked at each other.

"Ewwww! Starscream and Megatron bonded!!!" they shrieked hysterically.

"Say _what_?" came a considerably deeper voice, along with a bright flash of purple light. Skywarp looked down at the two troublemaking twins with a raised optic ridge.

"Uh, we were just trying to out-gross each other, that's all!" Frenzy supplied nervously. Fortunately for the cassetticons, Skywarp seemed to forget what he'd heard almost instantly.

"Ooooh, energon! Where are you going with that? Care to share with your dear uncle Skywarp?" he leaned down to get to their level, optics glued to the purple cubes. Frenzy looked over to his twin with a pleading look on his face, begging for help in making an excuse.

"Say, if you help us carry cubes, we can all have a party!" Rumble suggested quickly with a Cheshire cat grin. "What do you think? Can you warp half of the high-grade up to the mess hall?"

Skywarp stood back up to his full height and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, counting the cubes stacked up against the wall. "I can do it, easy. It'll take a few warps, but…won't Megatron get fragged off? We're not exactly overflowing with energon at the moment. You were there yesterday when he beat Starscream up, boss just went _nuts_ at him over nothing! Imagine what he'll do to us if we finish off half the high-grade!"

The cassetticon twins looked at each other briefly before smiling wide, identical grins up at the teleporter - the kind which usually said that Skywarp was about to be dragged into yet another dastardly scheme or prank.

"Let's just say that Megatron won't be coming out of his quarters for a while..." they snickered in unison. Skywarp gulped.


	5. Chapter 5

Last chapter for today! :D I'm sorry I update so fast...I don't know if it's annoying for people to keep getting "New chapter!" emails in their inbox...x_x Thank you for all the lovely reviews!

* * *

Just half an hour earlier, Thundercracker had been sighing happily. If there was one thing he loved more than anything else, it was lazing and sleeping in his berth. Sometimes, he even felt that he'd take the berth over his bondmate if he was forced to choose between them.

This was one of those times. To the blue seeker's credit, he'd been _more_ than patient - Skywarp had now been poking him for over 25 minutes. In the very same spot. And it was beginning to hurt. Vaguely, he wondered if he should stop pretending to be asleep and push Skywarp off their berth, or if he could hold out long enough for Skywarp to get bored and go away. Another, more vain part of his processor wondered if the paint on the spot the teleporter had been poking had worn out yet.

Fortunately, his decision was made for him. Skywarp had apparently decided to take the sneaky approach - he could feel the black fingers slipping underneath his plating and stroking the wires underneath, while the teleporter's face nuzzled its way up from his shoulder, neck and to his optics.

"Alright, alright," Thundercracker sighed with a weary smile. "I'm awake."

"I know when you're pretending, silly," Skywarp pouted. "I can _hear_ you, remember? Bonding? Long time ago? Ring any bells?"

"Aw, shut up," the blue seeker grunted, pulling Skywarp into a kiss. "What were you poking me about?"

"We're having a _party_ tonight!" grinned the purple seeker. "Rumble and Frenzy say that Megatron is bed-ridden, so we moved half of the high-grade to the mess-hall. You're the only one left to invite, sleepyhead."

Thundercracker frowned. "Megatron's gonna slag us."

"Pfft. He can't get mad at _all_ of us. Besides, the twins say he's got his own problems to worry about…they won't say what, but if it means we can party, who cares?" Skywarp retorted, sitting up and dangling his legs off the side of the berth while stroking Thundercracker's wing absently. "I know you don't drink, but I want you to come anyway."

"You just want me to be there to carry you back here when you're drunk off your aft," Thundercracker groaned, struggling to sit up.

Skywarp pulled him up into a standing position, leading his lover towards the door with a grin. "Yup."

----------

In typical Starscream fashion, the seeker threw open the doors to the mess-hall dramatically, Thundercracker at his right wing and Skywarp at his left. The other Decepticons peered over, bored but lacking any other entertainment, to watch as Starscream led his trine to the commanding table with head held high and nose in the air. _Megatron's_ table. A few groans rose from the crowd that had gathered in the hall - of course Starscream _would_ use this as an opportunity to pretend that he was the leader of the Decepticons.

The chatter resumed as everyone settled down to their high-grade, various cassetticons running around the hall between large feet. With a wordless command from Starscream, Skywarp got up and fetched two cubes of high-grade energon for the elite trine.

"Mmm! It always looks so good after you haven't had any in months!" Skywarp commented, licking his lips, as he passed the air commander his cube. Thundercracker had taken his own cube of energon out from his subspace pocket and was sipping at it quietly.

Starscream said nothing, taking a large gulp of his own cube before demanding, "Where's Megatron anyway?"

"Dunno…Rumble and Frenzy know, but all they'll say is that he's not coming out of his quarters for a while," Skywarp replied with a goofy smile still on his face. The air commander stared hard at Skywarp's absent grin for a moment, wondering if his trine mates were exchanging lovey-dovey words over their bond. Disgusting.

Pushing it away from his mind, he concentrated on the more pressing matters. "This is just _another_ example of Megatron's utter incompetence! What kind of commander is bed-ridden in the middle of a war!?"

While Starscream continued with his third version of the "I should be leader" speech to his trine mates (the version which contained the most expletives and insults to Megatron's person), a blue head peered around the doorway of the mess-hall. Soundwave looked around cautiously - good. Megatron wasn't there to pester him for mental blocks. Still in his quarters, just like the twins had said.

"Situation; Starscream's energon levels?" Soundwave droned over his private link with the cassetticons.

"He's only finished one cube. Don't touch his mind just yet," Laserbeak replied from a beam on the ceiling, where she and Buzzsaw had been watching the seeker trine intently. Soundwave nodded to himself - collecting a pile of cubes from the stack, he strode towards the commanding table confidently.

"…which is why I am _clearly_ superior to that pile of rusty bolts!" Starscream finished, flourishing his arms outwards. Not that his trine really cared. Skywarp had been busy telling Thundercracker jokes over their bond, challenging him to keep a straight face during Starscream's speech.

The three looked up as a pile of cubes was placed on their table. Soundwave nodded silently, sitting down opposite Starscream.

"Ahh! Excellent! More cubes!" Skywarp said with glee, grabbing another one for himself while Soundwave nudged one in Starscream's direction. With a cautious glare, the air commander took it, sipping it much more slowly than he had the first one.

------------------

"…And I meean, _all_ I ssssaaid was 'whicchh report?' And he juss…just…BHAM! Punched me! In the _nose_!" Starscream whined, slurring his words after the five cubes that had been passed his way by Soundwave.

Skywarp nodded understandingly, half-passed out already and leaning heavily on Thundercracker. "Sssomethin'…wrong with him," agreed the teleporter absently.

Thundercracker, still very much sober, was staring at Soundwave with unnerving intensity. The telepath drummed his fingers against his cube nervously - this was no good. The blue seeker probably knew that glint in his visor when he was accessing his psychic powers. If he kept staring at him, how was he supposed to get into Starscream's mind?

"You haven't touched your cube at all, Soundwave," the blue flier said coolly. Soundwave flinched slightly, looking down at his cube. Slag. He hadn't, either. "Something the matter?"

"Negative. Forgot," Soundwave droned back slowly, retracting his visor to sip at it slowly. He needed a distraction, and soon.

Fortunately, one came almost instantly after the thought had been formed in his mind. Feeling his distress over their bond, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw quickly swooped down, landing with a loud clang on the table and pecking at each other viciously - yes! For just a moment, Thundercracker looked down, and Soundwave's visor flashed in concentration.

…_stupid Megatron, beating me up, who does he think he is, when I'm leader I'll…_

There it was. Starscream's consciousness rattling away, streaming easily into Soundwave's mind. "Laserbeak. Buzzsaw. Desist," Soundwave snapped, opening his chest to place the cassettes back into his chest.

"Whhat wass thaaa?" Skywarp moaned, looking rather shaken and ill.

Thundercracker looked down at his lover with concern. "I think you've had enough for one night, Skywarp," he sighed, pulling the purple flier up with him as he stood. With one last suspicious glare thrown in Soundwave's direction, Thundercracker made his apologies. "Excuse us." Now, _finally_, the opportunity Soundwave had been waiting for! He stared fixedly at Starscream, who appeared to be struggling with staying upright.

…_something in my head…get out of my head…Soundwave in my head? Someone in my head…can't be in my head, mental barriers up, think faster, slag it Starscream think faster, think faster…_

Sifting through the hurried, meaningless jabber littering the flier's mind, Soundwave began to probe further inside the air commander's processor. _Resentment, half-finished plans to overthrow Megatron, scientific formulas, memories of the academy on Cybertron, construction diagrams for an impressive variety of weapons, flight plans, a vague, less than half-formed bond with his trine mates, similar to those of Gestalt teams, pride, arrogance, secrets that _Soundwave really _didn't_ want to know…

…but not what he was looking for. There had to be _something_ the telepath could use to his advantage!

Working backwards - there had to be a time when Starscream felt something other than overwhelming resentment and contempt for _Megatron, gave him the fusion cannon (uses it against me, slagger, damn that slagger, should be grateful, stupid! Stupid! Should have added an override lock!), far between compliments, what nice wings you have, never said that, wish he'd said that, wish I was as strong, wish I was as powerful -_

- _there!_ Soundwave hummed to himself in triumph. _There_ was the admiration for Megatron everyone believed Starscream had discarded millennia ago! Visor burning brightly in effort, Soundwave pulled those thoughts out from Starscream's memory banks and forced them to the very front of his conscious processor.

Suddenly, the air commander sat up very straight, optics wide, face blank. Soundwave hesitated for a moment before hurrying to drag the rest of the thoughts out by force. Starscream's optics twitched, optic ridges frowning deeper and deeper with -

A crash, followed by deafening silence. The Decepticons left in the mess-hall who were clear-headed enough to see turned around to find the communications officer pinned to the ground by a very angry - and somehow, suddenly, very sober - Starscream.

"_You dare?!_" the air commander hissed threateningly, null ray pointed straight at Soundwave's spark chamber.


	6. Chapter 6

Nothing to write here this time. Thanks again for all the reviews, they make me so happy to read! :D

* * *

"You think it's _funny_, Soundwave? Is this your idea of a prank?!" Starscream questioned threateningly, digging his null ray into Soundwave's chest plate for emphasis. "Or maybe Megatron set you up to this? Trying to brainwash me, is that it? _Is that it?!"_

"N-negative…" Soundwave's monotone wavered, visor wide in horror.

"Let him go! It's not his fault!"

Rumble and Frenzy pushed their way through the confused, drunk crowd that was forming around the two officers, followed soon by Ravage, snarling and hissing. Starscream sneered at them, pointing his other null ray at Soundwave's face. The cassetticons stepped back, fearful that Starscream would shoot if they came any closer to their creator.

"It was _you_ brats? You dared your creator to do this?!" the air commander shrieked, then looked down at Soundwave, spitting with rage. "I would have thought _you_ of all mechs would have more intelligence than to play along with your whiny little sparklings' whims."

"No, no, you don't understand! Let him go and we'll tell you everything!" Frenzy cried. "Don't hurt him, it's our fault, not his!"

"You'll explain this_ nonsense_ right now, then!" Starscream snapped at them.

"Explanation…sensitive," whimpered the telepath beneath him. "Explanation; possibly damaging to Starscream's reputation. Current location; middle of crowd. Suggestion; …take this outside?"

Starscream looked back down at the telepath. The communications officer could see Starscream's optics flickering, calculating - the air commander was probably well aware that Soundwave could have gained some very damaging blackmail material from his journey into Starscream's mind. From what little, sliver of access he still had, Soundwave also knew that his processor was struggling to suppress the memories dredged up by the telepath, battling them with years of resentment and pain.

"Very well," hissed the seeker at last. "Outside."

The flier stood, not taking his null rays away from Soundwave for a second. Soundwave scrambled up, cassetticons running towards him in relief to cling to his legs. He returned them to his chest compartment protectively. Slowly, cautiously, he backed out through the mess-hall doors, followed by Starscream, optics never wavering from Soundwave's visor. He was _not_ going to let the telepath back into his head any time soon. Soundwave led them down through the Nemesis, through the winding corridors and elevators down to the hall that led to the 'war room' as it was nicknamed, usually used for Megatron to explain his plan of the week to his second and third in command. Unsurprisingly, the room had a number of Starscream-shaped dents moulded into the walls.

"Are you done stalling yet?" Starscream growled, voice uncharacteristically low.

"Walls; sound-proof," Soundwave informed him. "Explanation imminent."

The air commander snorted, sitting himself down (again) in Megatron's commanding chair. With a soft whirr, his null rays powered to their next highest setting, making the telepath shudder. "Sit."

Soundwave did, in his usual chair. He looked down at his lap. "Explanation…complicated," he droned in almost a mumble. "Megatron; currently having…problems. Intrusion into Starscream's mind; looking for solution."

Starscream frowned. "Why on Cybertron would the solution be in _my_ head? I was a scientist, not a doctor."

Soundwave fidgeted. "Megatron's problem…mostly to do with…Starscream…"

At last, Starscream lowered his null rays, smiling with wicked glee. "Ah, he's feeling threatened by me! Is that it? About time he took me as a serious threat, too!"

"Negative…" Soundwave droned. Immediately, the null rays were back, along with a very ugly, very irritated grimace on Starscream's dark face. "Null rays; unnecessary. Feeling threatened. Explanation; more difficult with weapons in face."

The flier snorted. "That's rather the point, fool. Now get on with it. What is Megatron's 'problem', and what's it got to do with me?"

Soundwave made a noise that seemed to be some sort of substitute for an awkward cough. "Megatron…missing…certain emotional programming. Deletion of unwanted emotional programming necessary for leading Decepticons. Megatron's spark; not agreeing with programming. Emotions; not possible to remove from natural spark. Megatron's spark; conflicting with Megatron's programming. Starscream; cause of conflict."

"'Certain emotional programming'?" Starscream repeated blankly. "What, like _respect_ for his second in command? He wants to respect me but can't?"

"Negative. Sort of. Um."

"JUST GET TO THE POINT!" roared the flier, standing up abruptly and kicking Megatron's chair over. Soundwave cringed, pressing himself back into his chair as far as he could and wishing that it would swallow him up and save him from the irate flier. Finally, he gulped, and said in a small, low, voice;

"Megatron; loves you."


	7. Chapter 7

I am so very mean to Soundwave. Poor Soundwave. I like him really.

* * *

Soundwave groaned and cracked an optic open behind his visor. _Everything_ hurt like the pit. He couldn't move his left arm or legs. His diagnostics were reporting 70% damage, nothing fatal, mostly external. What the _slag_ had happened?! And…why was he upside down and lodged in the wall of the war room?

Oh. _Ohhh_ no.

"Rumble…Frenzy…Eject," he moaned, flailing an arm in panic, voice betraying the pain he was in much more than he would have liked. "Mission; …help Daddy down…ughh…"

The two twins diligently jumped out of his cracked chest compartment, landing with an ungraceful clang on the floor. Frenzy then promptly threw up. Rumble tried to stand and fell over, whining softly. Soundwave would have stared at them with concern, had he not been upside down (the energon in his head was starting to make him feel very queasy himself).

"Boss, what the hell happened?" Rumble gasped from his position on the floor. "We must have been flipped around…thirty times!"

"At the _least_!" Frenzy groaned. "Why are the walls all singed? Why…why are you upside down? And why is Megatron's chair ripped in two? And what's that on your - oh." Frenzy smacked his brother on the arm, appearing to regain some of his lost balance, then pointed to Soundwave's facemask.

Burnt on with a null ray, in clear, capital letters was one word, underlined and bold - "LIAR!"

The twins began to cackle at their upside down creator mercilessly, falling back onto their afts and clinging to each other with glee. Soundwave moved his one free arm to feel his face and let out an unhappy whistling noise. He retracted his mask - he'd have to get another one once he was finally free of the wall. Ravage, Laserbeak, Ratbat and Buzzsaw jumped out of his chest, giving their brothers a reproachful look before beginning the work of pulling Soundwave free.

* * *

Thundercracker stroked Skywarp's wing possessively. The purple seeker was happily snuggled in his arms, face wedged between Thundercracker's shoulder and neck, quiet and peaceful for now, but the flier knew that once he woke up he'd be whining about his hangover for hours on end. Better he stayed asleep. He smiled down at his lover - high-maintenance and troublesome, but worth every moment.

Pulling him even closer, the blue seeker frowned to himself. What had Soundwave been up to? It was so hard to tell where the telepath was looking behind that visor. Had he been looking at Skywarp? The telepath had kept pushing drinks towards the three of them…no Decepticon _ever_ had good intentions when they wanted to get another Decepticon drunk, Thundercracker knew. But he couldn't accuse Soundwave without hard evidence, either. Thundercracker scowled. If he was trying to take Skywarp away from him, he was in for one hell of a fight.

Out of nowhere, both his thoughts, and Skywarp's recharge, were very rudely, very suddenly, interrupted as the door to their quarters was blown clean off. In its place stood an incredibly furious-looking Starscream, howling with rage.

"Starscream, what in the holy name of Primus - !?"

"SOUUUNDWAAAAVVEEEE!!!" screamed the air commander. Skywarp clung to Thundercracker for protection. What the _pit_? His hangovers were bad, for sure, but they'd never taken the form of Starscream blowing the door down before!

"Calm down, slagger!" Thundercracker yelled back. "It's the middle of the night, you're going to wake the entire Nemesis up! What _about_ Soundwave?!"

"MEEEEGAAAATROOONNNNN!!!" Starscream screamed in reply at a decibel previously reserved only for Thundercracker's sonic booms or the seekers when breaking the sound barrier. For a moment, the blue seeker could feel Skywarp was genuinely worrying that Starscream was about to, quite literally, explode. The air commander grabbed the chair from Skywarp's desk (it was okay, Skywarp never did the work anyway - ah, what would he do without Thundercracker?) and threw it back out into the corridor, where it smashed violently against the Coneheads' quarter doors. Somewhere in his confusion, Thundercracker felt a vague sense of approval at this. Damn those Coneheads.

"CAAAASSEEEEEETTTEEEEESSSSS!!!" the Decepticon second in command continued to scream, grabbing various other objects from his trinemates' shared quarters and smashing them against the unfortunate Coneheads' quarters.

Right. This had gone far enough for Thundercracker's liking. He looked at Skywarp, who nodded back at him. With a flash of purple light, Skywarp teleported the pair on top of their trine leader, grabbing for the first white limb they could reach. Starscream howled underneath them as the three tumbled to the ground, Skywarp landing on Starscream's wing and bending it back at a rather painful angle while Thundercracker clung for dear life to Starscream's legs.

"SLAAAAGGEEEEERS! LET ME GO! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!" he screamed, thrashing against the grip of his trinemates.

"Not…! Until…! You…! Calm…down SLAG IT STARSCREAM, STAY STILL!" Skywarp roared back.

"NYAARRGGHHH!!!"

* * *

At last, Starscream's struggles ceased. For the last hour Skywarp, Thundercracker, and all three of the Coneheads (who had been woken by the scuffle outside their door) had been sitting on top of their commanding officer engaging in pleasant, if strained, conversation in the rare intervals when Starscream stopped yelling.

"So, has he actually said what he's so mad about yet?" Dirge asked, yawning tiredly.

"Not really. He kept yelling 'Megatron', 'Soundwave', and 'Cassettes' for a while, though," Skywarp replied, leaning on Thundercracker.

"Maybe he's just drunk?" Ramjet suggested, trying to get a look at the air commander's face.

"…Nghuhhh…get…off…'m calm now….promise…really…please?...Guys? You're….guh…..really….heavy!" Starscream wheezed pathetically.

"Promise you're not going to shoot us?" Thrust asked.

"Promise you're not going to bite us?" Ramjet added.

"Promise you're not going to throw more furniture in our direction?" Dirge growled.

"Yeeees…."

"Up we get, fellas," Skywarp announced, standing and stretching his tired limbs outwards. The others slowly began to stand too, shaking their stiff limbs around. Seekers just weren't designed for sitting still, they'd decided together. Starscream stayed on the ground, utterly exhausted, optics dull and tired. His two trine mates pulled him up into a sitting position, propping him against the wall.

"Now, oh screaming one, are you going to explain your little tantrum?" Thundercracker asked sweetly, prodding Starscream with a foot.

"Soundwave…that slagging Soundwave and his little pit-spawned cassettes…kept pushing high-grade my way," gasped the second in command. "Got into my head. The bastard got into my head. Said he was trying to help Megatron. Said the cassettes made him do it. Said the most…lying…LIES!"

"Lies?" Ramjet asked curiously. "What did he say?"

Starscream stared at the Conehead blankly for a moment. What did he say? He said that -

"HOLY PRIMUS! YOU'RE RIGHT, RAMJET!" Starscream screeched, jumping up with sudden renewed energy. "I HAVE TO GO SEE MEGATRON! I HAVE TO CONFRONT HIM!"

"Wait, I - …_what!?_"

The five seekers watched helplessly as their commanding officer suddenly transformed and hurtled down the corridor in his jet mode before any of them could grab him and shove him back down on the floor. Ramjet stood frozen, staring at the spot where Starscream had turned down the corridor, while the other Coneheads scratched their heads in utter puzzlement.

Skywarp facepalmed. Thundercracker began to bang his head against the wall. "Not _again_…"


	8. Chapter 8

I'm having way too much fun writing this :D I hope it's as fun to read! :)  
Also, as suggested, I've changed this from "drama" to "humour". More fitting, I guess.

* * *

Megatron polished off his eighth cube of high-grade energon easily. Admittedly, having a drinking contest with himself had not been the best idea in the world, especially as a heavyweight drinker and Decepticon drinking champion one million years in a row (Shockwave, of all people, had broken his record). He looked around sadly - how many damn cubes did it _take_ to get rid of these feelings?! If anything, it was starting to make it worse (although, he reasoned, it could have been the last of the mental blocks crumbling in his processor).

That treacherous Soundwave…all those years of loyalty and _now_ he had to decide to disobey important orders?! Megatron tried - and failed - to suppress the feeling that he'd be happy just to have Soundwave around for company. It was getting awfully lonely in his quarters - it had been two Earth days now, and if he kept going with his drinking contest he'd run out of energon - both high- and low-grade - very quickly.

Tentatively, he allowed himself to wonder what Starscream was doing right now. Oh, Primus. He was probably declaring Megatron dead and assuming position as leader. That was what had happened the last time Megatron had the sniffles, and he was more than willing to bet it would happen this time too. Maybe that was what was keeping Soundwave? Was he trying to keep Starscream under control? The twins _had_ said they were on a mission for the loopy air commander…

Megatron wandered towards the windows of his quarters, looking out at the ocean longingly, watching a shoal of fish fluttering by. Not only was he being forced to feel these…disgusting 'love' feelings, but he was learning very quickly what cabin fever felt like too. He had to get out! But…outside was Starscream…what would he do if he met the seeker without the mental blocks? Things had become dangerous before when they wore off -he still hadn't forgiven himself for calling Starscream's neck "lovely".

Oh but he _did_ so want to see Starscream's beautiful face again…the seeker was so cute when he was failing to overthrow him…

Slag it, Soundwave! He couldn't stay in here for ever thinking mushy things about his second in command! He had an army to lead! That blasted Prime was probably wondering where the Decepticons had been - these feelings had even prevented him from coming up with a new plan to defeat the Autobots this week!

Perhaps he should just kill Starscream. Surely it would be easier to lead an army while mourning than while being lovesick. But he'd tried to finish the seeker off so many times now, and _every_ time, failed to deliver the blow that would end his life, even with mental blocks firmly in place. He knew his spark would never let him, as long as it felt this way. He moved towards his energon dispenser to pour himself another cube of -

"MEEEEGAAAATROOOOONNNN!!!"

The silver tyrant dropped the cube in horror, shards smashing around his feet. The unmistakable scream of his air commander - and it was _right behind his door._ How in all the hells had Starscream even managed to get access codes to this level of the Nemesis!? How had he avoided _all _of Megatron's carefully designed anti-Starscream security devices!??

"OPEN THIS DOOR! YOU CAN'T HIDE IN THERE FOREVER!"

Oh _Primus_. Soundwave wouldn't have…_couldn't_ have told him…could he?! Trying his very best not to make a sound, Megatron dashed for his berth and crawled underneath it, which was, in itself, quite a feat for the large ex-gladiator. He clamped his large hands over his mouth, sparing only a nanosecond to consider the ridiculousness of his predicament - he could take out Starscream with one hand, legs tied together and other arm chopped off, if he needed to, yet here he was trembling under his bed.

The tyrant cringed as he heard an explosion only metres away from him, peeking out from under the berth to see his door lodged in the opposite wall, still smoking from the blast.

"Ohhh Meeeegatrooon," Starscream said with false sweetness, skipping into the room, "come out, come out, come out…"

With the same sort of titanic effort it would take to wrestle Devastator and Bruticus at the same time, Megatron managed to suppress both of the suggested reactions his processor came up with - one, to crawl out and jump the air commander there and then, and two, to stop himself from letting out a very un-Decepticon "EEP!"

"You can't hide for long, _dear leader_," whispered Starscream (was that…amusement in his voice?). "I know you're in here. This spilt energon is still fresh."

Megatron peered out at the turbine heels clicking on the floor metres away from him. He'd never noticed before that Starscream's heels were taller than his trinemates', arching his feet nicely. The silver mech held his hands over his mouth even tighter - if anything, to stop himself from trying to grab those gorgeous feet.

"Hmm, if I was a Megatron, where would I hide?" Starscream sang to himself cheerfully. "Maybe, in my washroom?" he threw open the washroom doors dramatically, making the hinges creak in annoyance. "Or, how about…in my store cupboard?" he kicked open the cupboard to accompany this announcement. Megatron nearly squeaked in fear - who knew Starscream could be so utterly terrifying!? Any moment now he'd look under the bed! "Nope, only energon and fusion cannon parts…remember when I gave you that cannon? Of course you do. But wheeere aaare yooou? I guess that just leaves…underneath the berth!!!"

Starscream threw himself down to the floor to look under the berth, grinning widely, but...

…_Nothing_??? This was the only place left for someone of Megatron's size to hide! Where was he if he wasn't under the berth? He sat up, scratching his head in confusion. The seeker took another look around the room - maybe there was a secret cupboard somewhere?

"Fine. You're not under there either," he growled to himself, pouting in disappointment. "Well! Then I guess I'll just have to wait for you to show yourself!" Standing, he proceeded to throw himself down on top of the berth. "I'll just make myself comfortable. You take your time, really, don't mind me. I can play this game too." The air commander stretched happily, grinning to himself with malice.

Underneath the berth, Megatron swallowed back a scream. The tyrant had managed to wedge a limb into each corner of the base of the berth and lift himself up off the ground, out of view to anyone looking under. He could feel the weight of the flier pressing down against his back, turbine heels digging into the surface and pretty blue fingers tapping it impatiently. Slow as a glacier, as quietly as he could, he allowed his hands and feet to slide down the sides until he was back on the floor.

This…was going to be a long, long night.


	9. Chapter 9

Last one for the weekend! x.x  
Thank you again for all the reviews. I love hearing what you think! I'm glad the fast updates aren't too annoying ^^;

* * *

Soundwave sat back happily, nestled in a large, Decepticon-sized blanket he'd originally commissioned a squishy to make for his sparklings. Here, down at the very, very lowest floor of the Nemesis, wedged deep into the sea-bed, was an excellent hiding place. He had everything he needed - a pile of cubes next to him, his emergency supplies tucked safely in his subspace pockets, his sparklings safe in his chest (save for Ravage, who insisted on being out and keeping guard, as the oldest sparkling).

Megatron wouldn't ever think of looking for him down here. Some of the more level headed Decepticons (of which there were very few indeed), perhaps, but the tyrant rarely sought their advice. Besides, he should, by Soundwave's calculations, still be locked in his room.

But then there was the matter of Starscream. Perhaps telling Starscream so bluntly had _not_ been the best idea he'd had recently. Megatron, too, was going to rip the telepath to tiny little pieces if he found out. Soundwave had a nagging suspicion that, by the time he came out of hiding, one of the them would have killed the other. It was terribly hopeless. Even if Starscream did accept Megatron, it would be a disaster - the two would carry on arguing and fighting as if they'd been married for millions of years (sometimes, Soundwave knew that the troops joked that they _had_ been a miserable married couple for years).

Ah well. Best to rethink here in relative safety, taking comfort in the presence of his family. Perhaps his other creations would come up with a more fitting solution than Rumble's recently suggested "throw Starscream into Megatron's arms and hope for the best".

* * *

Slag.

This, and a few other expletives, were the only words in Megatron's processor at that very moment. Starscream, true to his word (for once) was _still_ on the berth. He'd taken to singing Decepticon anthems for a while, earlier on - the silver tyrant wasn't sure if it was meant to be alluring or some sort of torture, though it definitely felt like the latter. There were some pitches that should not be reached, ever. Nor did Megatron particularly appreciate the old, drunken favourite "Our Beloved Fatty, Megatron", sung repeatedly. For an hour. He was sure he'd banned that one before Starscream had even been born, too.

Now, Starscream was snoring from his vents, very softly - but pretending, or genuinely asleep, Megatron didn't know. If he looked, Starscream could pounce immediately - then there was the added risk of waking him up by shuffling out from under the bed (how he'd crawled under the berth in the first place was beginning to seem like a mystery to the tyrant). But, if he didn't look, he could be stuck under this berth forever - imagine if Starscream ran the Decepticon Empire from bed! He certainly wouldn't put it past the flier.

He listened carefully, shutting down his own systems briefly to hear. Soft, gentle fans - surely Starscream couldn't act _that_ well? The Starscream that Megatron knew was about as subtle as one of those garish human clowns in a designer clothes store.

He'd have to risk it. Hitching his intakes, Megatron moved himself, inch by inch, nanometre by nanometre, out from under the bed. Ah, now there was a spot of luck - he'd managed to crawl out on the opposite side to which Starscream was facing! He stood, slowly, resisting the urge to stretch out his stiff limbs - the noise would surely wake the seeker.

Unfortunately, the urge to take a look at the sleeping air commander was too much to resist. One glance, and Megatron felt all the pathetic mental blocks he'd been trying to build by himself crumble - there was something creepily angelic about Starscream when he was asleep. Calm, peaceful, relaxed - a rare sight indeed. Usually, Megatron only saw him making ugly grimaces or rude faces (directed mostly at Megatron and Soundwave).

The seeker's wings twitched minutely as he dreamt, and Megatron found his hand only inches away from them before retracting it in horror. Starscream flicked it in his recharge, sighing, shuffling a little, before settling back into the berth. And oh, how _good_ Starscream looked in _Megatron's_ berth, away from the troops, away from any other optics, away from judgement. The gladiator suppressed a sigh. He grabbed a datapad from the store cupboard, still messy from Starscream's inspection of it, and quickly scribbled something onto it, placing it gently next to the seeker's side.

One last look, and he crept out of his quarters.

* * *

"Shockwave!" Megatron hissed into the Darkmount frequency. "Respond!"

There was static for a while, until Shockwave's head finally appeared on screen - looking very bleary and sleepy, for someone with only one eye and no face. "My lord!" he mumbled, rubbing at his head groggily.

"Prepare the space-bridge immediately," the Decepticon commander ordered. "I will be…taking a vacation. For a few days. I expect my quarters to be in pristine condition when I arrive."

"Yes, my lord!" Shockwave saluted, somehow managing to look stressed and panicked. "At once, my lord!"

Megatron nodded, signing off and leaving the Nemesis for Cybertron.

* * *

Starscream sighed in contentment. Megatron's berth was so much more comfortable than his! It was so _easy_ to sit and wait for him here in blessed comfort. He looked at his chronometer, wondering how long he'd been waiting for Megatron to reveal himself now.

…7 hours!? But only a minute ago the time had been - !?

He checked his recharge logs. Slag! He'd fallen asleep! Obviously the berth had been _too_ comfortable. It had been a long, long 48 hours, after all. He sat up, irritated, optics immediately falling on the datapad - that hadn't been there before! He snatched it up, reading.

Then immediately threw it across the room, screaming in frustration. In Megatron's decisive handwriting had been written the words, "You'll never catch me!"

And, so little, so small that Starscream had to pick it up again to check he hadn't imagined it, was a very tiny heart-shape, drawn in one corner.


	10. Chapter 10

Just as they did every Thursday morning, the Decepticon troops on Earth had gathered in the command room for their weekly briefing. Every mech was fighting for space or grousing about why Megatron didn't just address them in the mess-hall; at least they could actually all fit in there.

However, no mech failed to notice the absence of the Decepticon commander. Ah, but he had been ill or something, hadn't he? The cassetticons had never said exactly what was wrong with him. In times like these, the briefing was handed to Starscream. But the second in command was nowhere to be found either. Naturally, in this worst case scenario, it was then left to Soundwave to drone their orders at them in minute detail for the next three hours. But, just like Starscream, the third in command was also missing.

"Right!" Skywarp yelled over the chattering, walking over to the platform his superiors usually stood on. "As joint-fourth in command - "

"Since when are you fourth in command!?" someone demanded, prompting a few noises of agreement. "I thought that was Shockwave!"

"_Joint_-fourth in command with _Thundercracker_!" Skywarp corrected irritably. "Nobody cares about Shockwave! Not even Megatron cares about Shockwave! Why do you _think_ we left him on Cybertron?!"

"Logically, we're the fourth in command," Thundercracker explained, much more patiently than his purple counterpart. "As Starscream's trine, we are the next level down from him. Soundwave, being third in command, bumps us down into fourth. The cassetticons aren't allowed to be commanding officers, they're sparklings."

"Never get a thing done with _them_ in command," Skywarp agreed.

"Does that make us the fifth in command?" one of the Coneheads asked.

"No, just - oh shut up! All of you! This isn't important! What's important is, where the slag are our commanding officers?!" Thundercracker shouted over the growing noise.

"Megatron was sick, isn't that why we had the party?" someone asked.

"Yeah, but Starscream and Soundwave were both there," Shrapnel pointed out.

"I saw Soundwave sneaking around, come to think of it," Blitzwing said, scratching his head.

"When is he _not_ sneaking around, aft-head?" snorted Astrotrain.

"I could have sworn I saw Starscream's wing turning a corridor earlier," Scrapper remembered suddenly. "But when I looked around the corner, there was nobody there."

Skywarp looked at Thundercracker helplessly. Maybe this had something to do with Starscream's tantrum yesterday? Maybe their commanding officers had all killed each other in an epic bloodbath? Starscream had written some ridiculous instructions once for them in case of this situation ever happening - mostly involving statues of himself being put up around the Decepticon empire and erasing all data on Megatron and Soundwave.

"Alright, shut your vocalizers!" Thundercracker roared decisively. "Skywarp and I declare this a day off for everybody. We'll meet back here in 24 hours, and if none of our commanding officers have shown up, we'll decide what to do then."

"And then we will party," Skywarp added gravely.

* * *

Megatron lay back in his berth in Darkmount while Shockwave pulled up a chair next to him, sitting down with a large, clunky datapad.

"You're _sure_ you know how to do this?" the Decepticon commander asked suspiciously, optics narrowing.

"Well, I…I suppose. I have had psychiatric training, but I've never used it on one of my superiors before," Shockwave muttered, more to himself than in reply to Megatron. "I usually used it in dealing with my test subjects. Most sessions were followed by horrifying experiments."

The silver tyrant twitched, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"Right. Ahem. Let's begin," Shockwave cleared his vocalizer, crossing one leg over the other. "What…eh, seems to be the problem? Be honest, Megatron. Express yourself."

"I…yes, I'm having some…problems," he stammered, feeling incredibly stupid. Thank Primus it was only Shockwave left here in Darkmount. "You see, I'm…lacking certain emotional programming, but…my…spark is trying to make me feel the emotions I'm missing."

"And what emotions would they be?"

Megatron mumbled something very, very quietly.

"Pardon?"

"LOVE, IMBECILE! LOVE!" he roared, sitting up in his berth abruptly. "I can't take it anymore! Four million years of this slag! Soundwave's mental blocks used to help, but even then my spark got in the way of everything! I couldn't kill him, I couldn't exile him, I couldn't get rid of him, everywhere I turned _he_ was there!"

"Who? Soundwave?" Shockwave asked incredulously. "You love _Soundwave_!?"

"No, fool! Starscream! Why would I try to kill Soundwave?!" snapped Megatron.

"Well, um…let's calm down, shall we?" the purple Decepticon asked nervously. "What…exactly, do you feel when you look at Starscream?"

"I feel like space barnacles are crawling around inside me," Megatron grunted. "It's all..._crawly_."

"And?"

"And? And…I feel like…I want to give him a hug. And then I feel like I want to shoot him, for making me want to give him a hug, because that is just _disgusting_," Megatron shuddered. "But then…I feel bad for wanting to shoot him, and then I want to give him a…oh Primus…a kiss. Which makes me want to kill him."

"But Starscream isn't _making_ you feel like that," Shockwave pointed out. "It's your own spark producing those feelings in reaction to looking at Starscream."

"YOU DARE TO INSULT ME!?" Megatron shouted, standing up on his berth to loom over Shockwave.

"Listen, Megatron, _you_ asked me to counsel you," Shockwave huffed. "Now do you want to continue or not?"

Megatron opened his mouth to scream something else at the purple guardian, raising a hand in fury - then closed it, thinking better of yelling some more. He lay back down on the berth with a scowl. "Fine."

"Very well. Now tell me - why is it that you weren't programmed to feel love in the first place?"

"I was…a soldier. A long time ago, before I was even a gladiator. Then the wars ended, and they stuck me and all the other soldiers in the energon mines. Why would I need to know how to love someone? I was just a soldier, designed for killing," recounted the Decepticon commander acidly.

"Have you ever considered getting the programming installed?" Shockwave asked, perplexed by this whole situation.

"Never!" Megatron gasped, outraged. "I'm the commander of an entire army! I'm feared throughout the galaxy! Imagine what that would do to my reputation, getting emotional programming fixes!"

"…You are aware that you're the only one in the Decepticon army, save perhaps, the drones, that cannot process love?" Shockwave replied tartly.

"Of course I - what?" The Silver tyrant looked towards his makeshift psychiatrist in shock.

"How can you process hate correctly if you do not have love to compare it to?" sighed Shockwave romantically. Megatron felt himself gag a little. "Even with one eye, I know that Starscream is beautiful…well, when he's not scowling at me. Or shooting me. Or insulting me. Or…but anyway. Were I in your position as Decepticon commander, I would happily abuse my power to get Starscream."

There was an odd bubble of sensation in the silver tyrant's chest - something told him it was a mix between jealousy and anger at the thought of Shockwave taking advantage of Starscream. The feelings worried him more than the thought. "Fine then, _Doctor_ Shockwave," he hissed, "what do you suggest?"

"Well, if you aren't going to get the programming installed, I suggest you embrace the feelings," nodded the guardian sagely. "You cannot allow yourself to fear them. Take them, and use them as a strength, bend them to your will! You've conquered hundreds of planets, led your army through scores of galaxies - when it comes to meet the great unmaker, are you really going to tell him that the one thing you couldn't conquer was _Starscream_ of all mechs!?"

"I…I need to think about this," Megatron mumbled, expression blank with a slight tinge of worry. "Shockwave. Dismissed," he ordered.

"Yes, my lord!" Shockwave saluted, turning to leave.

Well, that had gone about as well as could be expected.


	11. Chapter 11

Starscream shut the door to his lab softly.

There was a thin layer of dust over everything - it had been a while since he'd come to tinker with the crates of scientific equipment he'd insisted on being brought onto the Nemesis, some of the boxes still unpacked. These days, he only came in here to think - to try and regain the scientific, cool, collected approach his mentor, Skyfire, had taught him to use in problem solving.

He dusted off the seat of the chair and sat down, sighing at the object in his hand.

The tiny little heart Megatron had drawn stared back at him blankly. Soundwave just couldn't have been telling the truth…could he? Maybe this was some sort of trap Megatron and Soundwave had planned together…but even Megatron wouldn't stoop so low as pretending to be in love with Starscream.

Starscream snorted incredulously. Love? No way. Only hours before Megatron had disappeared he'd beaten the living daylight out of seeker! Who would beat someone up out of love other than -

…Megatron. Ah. Oh dear. The air commander placed the datapad down on top of a dusty crate, rubbing at his face tiredly. It made sense, in that twisted sort of way that Megatron managed to make sense - everything was violence with Megatron. Even when watching him drink high-grade with the other Decepticons, Starscream could remember the tyrant crushing every cube glass he'd been through. It followed that displays of affection would be just as brash and violent.

Then there was what Soundwave had said - "emotional programming missing". What did that even _mean_? Maybe Megatron _couldn't_ express himself any other way. But maybe, he could be taught to process love correctly, even without the programming.

Starscream growled to himself and stood, scanning the room. His optics fell on a crate numbered SS2-F10, and he sloped towards it curiously. If his memory was correct, it _should_ be in here…puffing a burst of air through his vents, the dust flew off easily, and he set about entering the access code into the lock. The crate groaned as it was opened - however many million years of sitting here doing nothing had corroded it. Ignoring the rust, Starscream dug carefully, until at last he felt the shape of an old datapad.

He took it out and sat back on his chair, hesitating for a moment, before clicking the "on" switch.

A flicker of light, and with a whine, a photograph displayed itself, lighting up the dark laboratory. In the centre of the picture stood Starscream, draped in a red cape, while Megatron stood by his side in a purple cape - the colour of the Decepticon commander. The day of his official promotion, both to second in command and to air commander. A little behind them stood Soundwave, who Starscream remembered had refused to wear a cape in protest of Starscream's new position. "Too young. Too much responsibility," he'd said. Feh - what did the old telepath know?

Starscream stared at his younger self for a while. So serene; he hadn't had a genuine smile like that on his face for hundreds of years. Thanks to Soundwave rummaging in his head, the day was as clear as crystal in his processor - the overwhelming feeling of pride, of recognition, the respect radiating off Megatron for the young seeker. Megatron, too, was smiling in the photograph, with a hand resting on Starscream's small shoulder.

The seeker held the datapad to his chest, switching it off and allowing the room to become dark and quiet again.

* * *

"Ah, Ravage," Soundwave beamed down at his eldest creation slinking towards him. "Energon cookies; ready for consumption."

"We have bigger issues than whether or not the energon cookies are ready," Ravage replied acidly. "Megatron has gone to Cybertron, apparently to get away from Starscream. I called Shockwave - he said he's been trying to give the boss a dose of psychiatry."

"Oh jeez," Rumble groaned, "_that's_ not going to end well. Remember when Shockwave tried to cure Ratbat of his nightmares with 'the pooweeer of psychology'?"

"'Batty didn't stop crying for weeks!" Frenzy sniggered.

Soundwave hummed unhappily, prodding his newly cooked tray of energon cookies. "Starscream; status?"

"Locked in his lab," Ravage informed him. "He was skulking around a bit earlier, after his failed plan to confront Megatron. Mumbling to himself about drawings."

"Drawings?" Ratbat squeaked. "Starscream likes drawings? I'll do him a drawing! I like drawing!"

The twins patted their little brother on the head condescendingly. "Yes 'Batty, we know you do. What are we going to do, boss?"

"Mission; keep base under control. Briefing; tomorrow morning," Soundwave droned decisively, retracting his (new, unwritten on) mask to eat an energon cookie. "Shockwave; terrible psychiatrist. Megatron; undoubtedly back soon. Starscream and Megatron; need to talk."

"Maybe we should set them up on a date!" Ratbat squealed excitedly, nearly falling on the tray of treats. "They can talk over a romantic dinner of energon cookies!"

"Energon cookies; not romantic," Soundwave said gently. "However…idea; possible."


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry this chapter is a bit short ^^; It was necessary to move the plot along.

* * *

"I love you, Starscream."

"That was terrible," Shockwave scolded, brandishing a large metal pole menacingly. "Utterly unconvincing, Megatron. Again."

"I _love_ you, Starscream," Megatron growled, glaring at his 'psychiatrist'. Again, Shockwave shook his head, this time smacking Megatron on the arm with the pole.

"Awful! You sound like you're about to _eat_ him! You're professing your love! Do it with _feeling_!" the one-eyed guardian chided, smacking Megatron again.

"I swear to Primus, Shockwave, if you don't stop hitting me with that thing I'm going to rip your head off," snarled the silver tyrant, optic twitching with irritation. "How am I supposed to 'do it with feeling'!? _I don't know how_!"

"Embrace the love!" Shockwave yelled dramatically, waving his arms around for effect. The gladiator rubbed at his temples, struggling to keep his temper.

"Fine. Starscream, I love you. Was that better?" Megatron hissed.

"Slag it Megatron! No! All you did was rearrange the sentence order!" Shockwave snapped back.

"FOR THE LOVE OF PRIMUS, SHOCKWAVE!" Megatron roared. "I LOVE STARSCREAM! I want to hold him so tight that his paint starts to chip! I want to kiss him until his mouth melts off! I love him so much that it makes me want to purge my tanks! Is that what you want me to say? IS THAT BETTER, SHOCKWAVE?! IS THAT, Unicron forbid, _ROMANTIC_ ENOUGH FOR YOU?"

The guardian began to applaud. "Excellent. Now all you have to do is say that to Starscream and pray that he doesn't run away in terror."

"RAAARGGHHHRRHH! SHOCKWAAAAVE!!! "

* * *

There was a collective groan in the command room as Soundwave walked in, Laserbeak perched on his shoulder cannon. Even Starscream's screeching was better than listening to Soundwave for three hours - the Insecticons were convinced that he was trying to hypnotize them all when he lectured them.

"Soundwave! Where have you been!?" Thundercracker demanded, accompanied by grunts of agreement.

"Location; hiding," Soundwave admitted easily, silencing the entire crowd. "Megatron and Starscream; engaged in struggle of epic proportions." The telepath couldn't keep the knowing grin from spreading behind his facemask. "Your orders; leave them the pit alone, unless dragged into it. If dragged into it; run."

The Decepticons looked at each other in utter bewilderment.

"Base must be kept running smoothly. Efficiency levels; down 86.4% to nearest decimal," he announced. "Yesterday's holiday; not authorized. Shifts; lengthened to make up for slacking." This statement was met with roars of outrage from the crowd, the Constructicons throwing various tools towards the stage (and missing Soundwave miserably).

"We wanted a party!" Skywarp cried out, scandalized.

"Energon levels insufficient for 'party'," Soundwave retorted, with as much sass as was possible to work into a monotone. "Skywarp; lazy slagger. Thundercracker; banned from doing his reports for him."

Thundercracker was about to protest, but then, realizing what Soundwave had just said, thought better of it. Skywarp turned to his partner, mouth agape and offended beyond reason - his lover just shrugged helplessly with a grin. "He's got a point, dear," Thundercracker said as sweetly as he could, smile widening.

"Skywarp; please collect mission," boomed the tape-deck, holding out a datapad. The purple flier stalked towards the announcement platform, snatching it out of Soundwave's hands and mumbling threats. He returned to his place, switching the datapad on - then looked back up at the telepath, optics wide in shock. "Dismissed," Soundwave ordered, pointing towards the door. Skywarp nodded and ran out.

"What the - ?!" Thundercracker peered after his lover.

"Thundercracker; please collect mission," Soundwave continued, holding out another datapad to the blue seeker. Once the blue seeker had read through the datapad, he suddenly understood where Skywarp had rushed off to, and strode out of the opposite entrance to carry out his mission. Soundwave nodded approvingly - everything had been set in motion for his latest plan.

Now all he had to do was hand out the other 94 datapads…


	13. Chapter 13

The loose, gestalt-like bond that Starscream shared with his trinemates was twitching unhappily in his chest. Usually, this meant that, either Skywarp was about to warp on top of him (he moved aside just in case out of habit), or that they were talking about him. Both outcomes were undesirable. The air commander frowned. Something in his spark told him that today, it was neither, and gut-instinct told him that one of them was looking for him.

Cautiously, he opened the door to his lab - just in time to see a bright purple flash at the end of the corridor.

"I knew I'd find you down here," Skywarp smiled warmly. "Feeling better today? That was a pretty spectacular tantrum."

"Not really. Worse, possibly," Starscream replied wearily. "You were looking for me?"

"How did you know I was…? Well, that's not important. I've been instructed by Megatron to give you this," Skywarp grinned, holding out a small, metal box. Starscream took it gingerly, holding it at arms length. It _looked_ official enough…it had Megatron's personal seal stamped onto it.

"It's…not going to explode, is it?"

"How should I know?" shrugged the purple seeker. "Anyway, I've gotta go yell at Thundercracker now."

"Lover's spat?" Starscream asked, a smile tugging at the corner of one mouth.

"Yup. The best kind of spat!" Skywarp grinned back, and with a flash of light, he was gone again.

Starscream stared after the spot Skywarp had disappeared from for a moment, wondering what it was like to argue out of love. Shaking his head, he shuffled back into his lab, placing the box behind a bomb-proof shield (just in case. It never hurt to be careful with Megatron's gifts). Reaching his arms through holes designed to allow him to reach his test-subject, he opened the box slowly, spark thumping in his chest.

…Nothing. Not a bomb, then. He took the box back out of the bomb-shield and peered inside it. Another datapad! Quickly, he turned it on, reading the text several times before throwing it onto a desk. The air commander groaned in frustration - this was getting more and more complicated.

In Megatron's handwriting was written;

"_Starscream - _

_We need to talk. The co-ordinates are attached. Meet me there tomorrow at 1900. _

_- Megatron." _

* * *

In front of the space-bridge, Skywarp landed neatly next to where Thundercracker had been standing. The blue seeker smiled softly at the purple flier.

"Did he buy it?" Thundercracker asked quietly.

"Not sure. Soundwave told me to leave before he could open the box. I peeked at the datapad - it said the same as the one we're meant to be delivering now," Skywarp explained, grinning. "Man, can you believe Soundwave?"

"When it comes to reconciling Starscream and Megatron, sure. I can believe it," Thundercracker smirked. "Remember when little 'Screamer had a crush for a while on Megatron? Back when we first started out as a trine?"

"Hey, you can't talk! You were head over heels with me then!" Skywarp laughed.

"Shut up!" Thundercracker yelled playfully. "As I recall, _you_ were the one who kept flirting with me!"

The space bridge beeped, and the two quickly saluted, standing to attention - Thundercracker peered down at the control panel. "Shockwave's getting it ready - Megatron's gonna be here in five minutes." Skywarp nodded, shuffling on his feet a little to stand straight. The two stood in silence for a while.

"Hey 'Warp?"

"Huh?"

"I'll still do your reports for you. I don't mind. It's easy imitating your writing style," smiled the blue seeker.

The space bridge activated itself before Skywarp could react or turn to face his partner. _I'll kiss you later_, Skywarp chuckled over their bond. With a crack of light, Megatron descended from the bridge, landing heavily on the Earth before standing and dusting himself off.

"Hail Megatron!" the two fliers chanted, before Thundercracker continued. "We have a report to deliver to you, sir! We will be happy to accompany you back to the Nemesis!"

"A report?" Megatron scowled, stepping out of the space bridge. "By who? I didn't order any reports to be done."

"Starscream, sir!" Skywarp responded, holding out the datapad. "Our trine leader requested we deliver this report to you by hand! Strictly confidential, sir!" Megatron's optics widened, threatening to disconnect themselves from the rest of his circuitry. He snatched up the report and turned it on, reading it through several times to make sure. In Starscream's distinct, cursive handwriting was written;

"_Megatron - _

_We need to talk. The co-ordinates are attached. Meet me there tomorrow at 1900. _

_- Starscream." _

The silver tyrant leaned back on the walls of the space bridge, doing his best to look as if he was casually resting against it (and not doing a very good job - neither of the seekers failed to notice Megatron's cooling fans exploding into action in a panic). "D-dismissed!" he ordered, voice ever so slightly shaky. "I won't be going back to the Nemesis straight away. Tell Soundwave to make sure everything is in order."

"Sir, yes sir!" the fliers saluted. Skywarp took Thundercracker's hand, and with a flash, both were gone.


	14. Chapter 14

The clouds were a satisfying blood-red as the sun began to set. That was one good thing about this planet - it still orbited a sun, whereas Cybertron had long ago been thrown out of orbit to wander the galaxy in the darkness. Megatron dangled his legs over the edge of the cliff he lay on, a few rocks shifting and falling down into the sea precariously.

In the distance, the roar of a jet engine getting closer and closer. The Decepticon commander sat up, peering towards the horizon. It only took a matter of seconds for Starscream to swerve to a halt over the cliff, lowering, transforming and landing gracefully on the grass.

"You're early," commented the flier. Megatron only grunted in response. The seeker followed the silver mech's gaze, taking a moment to appreciate the red sky. "Nice place you chose."

"You chose it," Megatron corrected, turning towards the seeker with a frown.

"What?" The flier's optics ridge rose in surprise. "You were the one who invited me here. You sent me that datapad saying we had to talk."

"No, Thundercracker and Skywarp delivered your invitation to m-" he paused suddenly. The two looked at each other, and seemed to come to the same conclusion at once.

"_Soundwave,_" they growled together. Megatron clenched his fists. "That sneaky son of a glitch!"

"Well," Starscream sighed, lying down with his hands behind his head, "I guess he has a point. We need to talk. Might as well talk here."

The silver gladiator grumbled to himself, hunched over with a dark expression on his face. The two Decepticons sat in silence for a while, speech replaced by the gentle roar of the sea below the cliff and the occasional shriek of a seagull. Out of the corner of his optics, Megatron could see Starscream smiling, optics closed, sunning himself in the dying light.

"Soundwave…told you, didn't he?" he asked, voice low.

"He did, but I won't believe it until I hear you say it," Starscream replied, laughter in his voice, cracking one optic open to examine the warlord's face. Megatron just scowled and turned away, fixing his sights on the sunset once more. "I carved 'liar' into his facemask and welded him to the war-room wall. I might have broken your chair, I don't remember. So sorry."

"I…probably would have done the same," Megatron rumbled back, refusing to look at the seeker. Starscream's optics burned into his back, trying to read him.

"Were you actually in your room? When I broke in demanding answers?"

"Of course," smirked the warlord.

Starscream sat up suddenly, outraged. "WHAT!? Where! Where were you hiding? Why didn't you answer me?!"

"That's a secret," Megatron grinned wickedly for a moment, then his smile faltered and he looked away again. "I didn't answer you because…because I wasn't ready to."

"Are you ready now?" The seeker crossed his arms over his chest, expression full of expectation.

"I…well, I…that is to say…um…"

"It's ok," Starscream smirked, shuffling closer to where Megatron was sitting. "I know you can't say it. 'Cause you're biiig spooooky Megatroon, right?"

Megatron gave Starscream his classic 'this is my warning face before I beat you to a pulp' look, but didn't reply.

"I haven't been in love for a long, long time," admitted the air commander. "I had a crush on you once. Back when you promoted me to second in command."

"Huh. I messed that one up, then," Megatron grunted. "I didn't understand what I was feeling for you. I wasn't supposed to feel like that - wasn't built to feel like that. So I made Soundwave erase it. You were so young, then."

"So you beat me up instead?" snarled Starscream, standing up with fists clenched. "You don't know any other way to express yourself - just violence."

The warlord's expression darkened, standing too to regain his height advantage over the seeker. "Before anything else, I am a warrior. A champion gladiator. I will _not_ change the way I am for a pretty little brat like you, no matter how my spark feels about it," he glowered. "When I think about holding you, I want to _crush_ you in my arms so you can't get away. When I think about kissing you, I want to kiss you so hard that your lip-plating melts. When I think of all the squishy, _Autobot_ things I want to do to you, I almost purge my tanks in disgust!"

Starscream stood his ground, optics burning with something foreign, expression unreadable. "And how then, oh _mighty Megatron_, do you plan on conquering _me_? With violence, like everything else?"

"I wouldn't have to fight you if you weren't so slagging annoying!" roared the tyrant. "You can't accept a single order without questioning my ability as a leader! When you're constantly trying to stab me in the back, of _course_ I'm going to retaliate before you can succeed in killing me!"

"If you actually _listened_ to my advice as your _second in command_, which YOU made me, against the advice of Soundwave, if you remember, I wouldn't _have_ to phrase it as an insult to your abilities as a leader!" screamed the flier back. "I only try to overthrow you because I'm so slagging _sick_ of you beating me up every time I ask you which of Soundwave's reports you want to see!"

"FINE!" hollered the tyrant. "I admit it! I resent you! I _hate_ feeling like this about you! I hate the confusion you bring about in me! I can't lay a hand on you without Soundwave's fragging mental blocks, for fear of jumping on you and crushing you in a hug in front of the troops!"

"So the truth comes out! _You_ started this ridiculous cycle!" screeched Starscream, moments away from firing his null rays at the Decepticon commander. "And you know what? Everyone else is sick of us doing this too! Now I see exactly why Soundwave brought us here!"

"THEN TALK TO ME, YOU _BEAUTIFUL_ IMBECILE!" Megatron howled, pushing Starscream down onto the cliff and crouching over him, hands pinning the seeker down by the wings.

Starscream stared up at him, optics wide in shock. The tyrant looked down in surprise, seeming to only just realize what he'd done. For a moment, the two said nothing, still as statues save for their overworked cooling fans struggling to calm them down. Slowly, Megatron stood, offering a hand to help Starscream up. The seeker looked at it cautiously, before taking it and dragging himself up too.

"Starscream…as my second in command, then, give me your advice," Megatron began, gulping hard as if he was being forced to swallow his pride. "How do we solve this?"

The air commander looked towards the sun, now halfway to disappearing behind the horizon completely, expression calculating. "Alright," he said slowly. "Alright. Considering your position as…as the Decepticon commander, as leader of an army, I propose a duel."

"A duel?" Megatron repeated blankly.

"Yes. You against me. No null rays, no fusion cannons, no weapons - just hand to hand combat. I'll be allowed to use my thrusters - it's only fair, since you're bigger than me. If I win, then you'll never beat me up ever again. You'll listen to what I have to say, as your second in command. You'll give me the respect I deserve," he said solemnly, optics meeting with those of the tyrant.

"And if I win?" Megatron demanded.

"If you win, then you've conquered me fair and square, and I'll agree to be your bondmate. I won't belittle you in front of the troops. I'll obey my orders, and when I think your orders are ridiculous, I'll tell you politely and respectfully," Starscream replied quietly with a soft smile. "After all, I can't respect a bondmate who can't beat me in battle."

Megatron smirked, holding out his hand. "A duel it is, then." Starscream took his hand and shook it with a grin. "I'll beat you, you know. I always do."

"We'll see," Starscream cackled. "But for now, I'd say it's time for us to go and beat Soundwave up. _Nobody_ tricks us and gets away with it!"

"Right behind you, my dear second," Megatron chuckled, rubbing his hands with glee, before the two took off in the direction of the Nemesis.


	15. Chapter 15

Another short chapter...sorry!

* * *

"Daddy, why do we have to hide down here again?" Ratbat sniffled. "The walls make creepy noises at night!"

Soundwave picked up his youngest creation and stroked his wings affectionately. "Creepy noises; pressure of ocean pushing against Nemesis. Worry; unnecessary," he explained patiently. "Starscream and Megatron; returning imminently. Status; slagged off about our plan to set them up."

"Do you think they've sorted it out between each other, boss?" Rumble asked.

"Chance of reconciliation; 43.2%," Soundwave replied ambiguously, grimacing behind his facemask. It would be a miracle if they didn't kill each other, in the telepath's opinion. "Any outcome; more desirable than making mental blocks."

The cassetticons nodded together solemnly in agreement.

* * *

"Sooo?" Skywarp grinned mischievously. "What did Megatron give you?"

"As if you didn't know, slaghead," scowled Starscream, not bothering to look up from the report he was typing, "since you delivered the exact same thing to Megatron. And don't tell me you didn't look at what Soundwave had written. You _always_ peek."

"Aww, you're no fun, 'Screamer," huffed the purple seeker. "Did you guys sort it out? You both came home intact…that's unusual, isn't it?"

"A duel," Starscream announced sharply, twisting around in one fluid motion to stare at his trinemate intently. "We're going to settle it by a duel in three days time. If I win, he stops beating me up and takes me seriously."

"A _duel_? Oh Primus. What's Megatron winning?" Skywarp groaned disbelievingly.

"Shut your vocalizer, I can beat him any time I want to!" snapped the air commander. "_If_ he wins, which he won't, then I become his bondmate."

"I'd better start looking for a bonding present for you guys then," grinned the teleporter. "Why on Cybertron did you agree to a duel with Megatron? You're going to get slagged, _and_ turned into a housewife to boot!"

"_I_ was the one who suggested it. I set the terms. If I lose, it was my own fault," Starscream shrugged, turning back to his report.

"WHAT!?" squawked Skywarp in horror. "But I thought you hated him! And you're offering yourself as his prize? I know he has the hots for you, but still!"

Again, the air commander shrugged. "Like I said. If I lose, it'll be me that got me into it. Besides, you know I used to like him. There must have been something pretty good about him for me to have a crush on him - I don't know what, though. I have very high standards, you know."

"Aww, I think little 'Screamy still liiikes hiiim!" Skywarp chuckled, narrowly avoiding the null ray that blasted at him straight afterwards with a well-timed warp. Landing on Starscream's desk, he began to tug at his trine leader's cheek plates making "goochy-goochy-goo" noises.

"GET OUT, SKYWARP!" Starscream snarled, grabbing at the purple seeker - and missing as he warped out the door again. "You've wasted enough of my time! With Soundwave hiding like a fragging coward all of his reports have been lumped on me! Do you even _know_ how many reports he does a day!?"

Skywarp just smiled at him goofily. "Enough to keep you from breaking into Megatron's quarters again?"

"THAT IS IT! I'm delegating ALL FIFTY of these reports to YOU!" screamed the air commander. "AND DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT GETTING THUNDERCRACKER TO WRITE THEM FOR YOU! I CAN TELL!"


	16. Chapter 16

Ohh, it's getting tense XD Thank you again for the reviews so far! I love reading them!

* * *

Though they didn't have puppies on Cybertron (Ravage was the closest thing Thundercracker could think of at the moment, and _he_ certainly didn't make cute faces), Skywarp was managing to pull off an incredibly convincing kicked-puppy expression, optics bulging, glittering with cleaning fluid, mouth wobbling.

"Starscream is so meeean to meee!" whined the teleporter.

"I've warned you about provoking him before, sweetspark," Thundercracker said gently, but sternly. "You know I can't help you with those reports, so don't give me that look. He's our trinemate, he can tell which reports I've done and you've done."

"But FIFTY?!" shrieked Skywarp. "Only Soundwave does fifty reports in one day! He's like…he's like some kind of machine!"

"We _are_ machines," Thundercracker deadpanned. "Besides, Starscream doesn't have time for reports - he's got to get ready for this duel with Megatron. I still can't believe he was the one to suggest it."

"Me either," sighed the purple seeker, looking back up at the mountain of datapads. "You'd think he'd know that he can't beat Megatron after three million years of having his aft handed to him, day in, day out."

"What if he's doing it on purpose?" suggested the blue flier. "Do you think he _wants_ Megatron to…'conquer' him, as he put it?"

Skywarp snorted. "Screamer? He's got too much pride for that. Ego the size of Unicron's aft. I reckon he must have some kind of trick in mind. One of them is going to cheat, I bet you."

Thundercracker considered this a moment and shook his head, leaving Skywarp to his reports. Even for the two highest-ranking Decepticons, there was too much pride at stake to use underhanded methods this time; if Starscream was going to allow _anyone_ to make him his bondmate, they would have to win him fair and square, Thundercracker knew.

* * *

Soundwave seemed to have developed a sly knack for the twisted politics of the Decepticon chain of command during his time in hiding. The day of the duel rolled around, and suddenly, he was there, calm and emotionless as ever - but today, he was the least of Starscream and Megatron's concerns.

In revenge for being handed fifty reports (half of which he still hadn't managed to do) Skywarp had told every single Decepticon on board the Nemesis about the duel, careful to be vague about what was at stake and the exact reason they were duelling, lest Starscream hand him _another_ fifty reports. Unsurprisingly, Swindle had started a betting pool, with the current stakes being largely in Megatron's favour (Soundwave, for some reason, had decided to place his bet on the result being a draw). There were also a number of different bets placed on the likelihood of them cheating - Thundercracker decided to throw in a cube of energon against this, hoping his earlier gut-instinct was right.

Shockwave had refused his invitation to Earth to come and watch, petulantly claiming the duel was an affront to his abilities as a psychiatrist.

Overnight, the Constructicons had managed to build a small stadium on the nearest land to the Nemesis, just like the ones used in Kaon back in Megatron's days as a gladiator. In the centre was a large, circular, metal platform, with rows of seats to accommodate every Decepticon on Earth and then some.

Megatron walked in to inspect the work and nodded to himself approvingly - if he was feeling nervous, he certainly didn't show it. He'd spent the last few days practicing wrestling moves he'd long forgotten with whatever helpless victim he came across; several members of the crowd who had been unfortunate enough to cross his path were still only half-patched up, but insisted on attending against the advice of Hook anyway. Some of them just wanted to know why they'd been attacked in the first place.

Once the stadium was full, Soundwave took up his position as referee, his cassetticons placed at various locations around the ring to allow him to spot foul play from any angle. Last to enter was Starscream, grey face solemn and determined.

Megatron held up his hands for silence, and the crowd quieted. "There will be no cheering, yelling, or noise of any sort during this duel," he commanded, optics burning darkly. "Anyone found distracting will be taken from the crowd and forced to join us in the ring - and believe me, you will _not_ find any allies in myself _or_ Starscream."

The crowd remained silent. Megatron nodded, and then turned to Starscream. "Anything to add?"

"May the best mech win," Starscream replied with a small, confident smile, holding out his hand. Megatron flashed him a lopsided grin and took it, gripping his hand firmly and shaking it, before the two walked to their sides of the arena and took up their stances. Soundwave looked between the two, and they gave him the signal.

"Begin."


	17. Chapter 17

I actually watched some martial arts videos on youtube to get this duel right XD I hope it's convincing!

* * *

The noise of Starscream's thrusters clicking and Megatron's heavy feet hitting the ground as the two circled each other was deafening in the silent arena.

Optics locked, neither seemed willing to deliver the first blow or break the circle. Up in the audience, Skywarp gripped Thundercracker's hand nervously - this was _nothing_ like their usual fights. Slowly, slowly, their circling drew them closer and closer together, inches at a time. Starscream slowed, raising his guard, arms held up defensively - Megatron followed his lead, slowing to the same pace.

Only a metre away from each other, deathly focused and calm - before Starscream stepped back suddenly, Megatron flinching before jumping back too. A pause, and they began to circle each other again.

_Why don't they just fight!?_ Skywarp whispered over his bond.

_Too much at stake_, Thundercracker replied, staring intently at the pair on stage. _There's no room for stupid mistakes this time_.

Suddenly, without warning, Megatron twisted forward, jabbing at the flier with his left fist. Starscream leaned back just enough, Megatron missing the flier's glass canopy by millimetres, before ducking down and placing a well-timed kick to Megatron's shin. Ignoring the burst of pain below his knee joints, the silver gladiator punched downwards again - the flier didn't roll away in time and the blow went straight through his left wing.

Jumping back up, dental plates gritted in agony, Starscream shrugged off the pain and resumed his defensive stance, taking a few cautious steps backwards. Megatron shook his leg out, grimacing, before doing the same, fists held up, ready to attack again.

Predator versus predator, they stalked around the ring, concentration tangible as the audience hitched their collective air intakes in suspense. This time it was Starscream to lash out, making as if to punch Megatron's midsection before twisting around several times to get behind Megatron, leg about to kick Megatron in the back of his knees - but before he could, Megatron kicked backwards, sending the flier hurtling towards the other end of the ring.

The Decepticon commander rushed forward to land another punch, missing narrowly as Starscream rolled to the side, hooking a thin white leg around Megatron's bulky silver one. With a pull, Megatron came crashing downwards, roaring in surprise. Unfortunately for Starscream, the weight of the tyrant prevented him from getting his leg back out, and Megatron quickly used the opportunity to slam a fist into the side of the flier's face.

Starscream shrieked, igniting his thrusters to pull himself free. Safe on the other side of the ring, he stood up, wobbling ever so slightly, raising a hand to his face to inspect the damage. His blue hand was covered in energon as he drew it away. Wiping it off with a glare in Megatron's direction, spitting the energon pooled into his mouth onto the stage, he resumed his stance.

From across the arena, Megatron stood tall, shaking his limbs out again. Then, before the crowd could see what had happened, Starscream had launched himself with the help of his thrusters over to Megatron, crashing straight into the tyrant before raising in his legs in an elegant kick that collided straight with Megatron's nose.

Howling, the silver gladiator grabbed the leg, thrusters still burning, and slammed Starscream to the ground with it before crushing the turbine foot in his large, black hands. True to his name, the flier screamed, using his remaining thruster to fly away to the other side of the arena to recover. However, the tyrant hadn't let go, and was dragged along unceremoniously, scraping along the metal floor with a cry of surprise. The seeker kicked and thrashed randomly at his opponent, Megatron doing his best not to let go before finally having to release the crushed foot to defend himself.

The two jumped away from each other, panting; Megatron was covered in tiny scratches dripping with energon from being dragged around the floor, while Starscream was struggling to keep his balance on only one leg.

Again, Starscream ducked to the floor, rolling to try and knock Megatron over with a kick to the legs, but the gladiator had seen through this tactic now and jumped before the seeker's leg could make contact. Starscream continued to roll, apparently giving up on standing, forcing the gladiator to dodge, jump and hop out of the flier's way.

Megatron growled, loud enough that the audience could hear it, and kicked outwards, sending the curled up seeker flying across the arena once again like some kind of football. He threw himself forward to follow Starscream before the seeker could recover from the kick, punching downwards and managing to send his fist straight through the flier's other wing.

Starscream wailed, teeth bared and optics burning so brightly they were almost white in agony. The audience dampened their audio units, cringing with sympathy. But Megatron's hand was now stuck through the seeker's wing - realizing this, Starscream used this opportunity close to the gladiator to scratch, punch, bite and kick at whatever part of Megatron he could reach.

The gladiator reared back defensively, breaking off the wing stuck to his hand as he did so. The seeker screamed again, snarling and slashing forwards and managing to break one of the tyrant's optics in the process. The audience looked towards Soundwave, expecting him to declare this foul play - but the telepath sat quietly, never moving his gaze from the two fighters.

But now the Decepticon commander had a clear shot at Starscream's chest, and didn't waste it, smashing his fist into the orange glass with a sickening crunch that sent the flier hurtling backwards. This time, Starscream didn't get up.

_Oh Primus, I can't watch!_ Skywarp wailed over his bond with Thundercracker. The blue seeker squeezed his hand, just as tense as his lover.

Megatron watched the seeker for a moment, waiting - then, slowly, the seeker crawled up, purging his tanks from the force of the blow he'd sustained. The gladiator stalked towards him, dragging him upwards by the throat.

"Do you give up, Starscream?" he asked, no malice in his deep voice.

"Never," came the hoarse reply, and Starscream smashed his remaining foot into Megatron's chest, igniting his thrusters and burning the plating underneath them. The gladiator let go in shock, Starscream flying back and skidding along the arena from the force of his own thrusters as Megatron clutched his chest, groaning.

Then - with a sickening whine - Starscream's turbine sparked, short-circuiting and fizzling out. The kick into Megatron's chest had been too much for the sensitive circuitry to handle. The air commander looked down at his turbine heels in horror - now both were out for the count, he'd lost his speed advantage over Megatron. There was a small, barely-suppressed gasp from the audience, and the gladiator looked over to see what had happened.

Wasting no time despite the pain in his chest, Megatron lurched forwards, slamming his fist down onto Starscream's still intact foot, crushing it.

Suddenly, Soundwave stood. "Pause," he droned loudly, and the fighters looked up at him in surprise. "Starscream; unable to stand or walk. Do you wish to continue?"

Starscream spat, heaving himself upwards with his arms alone, balancing precariously on his broken feet with a pained grimace. "I…can stand…just fine," he snarled stubbornly. In the audience, his trinemates rolled their optics in disbelief. "Continue. This fight isn't over yet."

"Very well," Soundwave droned impassively. "Resume."

No sooner had the telepath said this, Megatron grabbed for Starscream's neck, forcing the seeker to collapse back downwards again to avoid the blow. Starscream rolled between Megatron's legs, managing to punch the back of both silver knee-joints and bringing the tyrant down to his level. But Megatron leaned back, purposely landing on top of Starscream.

"Get off me!" shrieked the seeker, thrashing underneath him. Megatron growled in reply, grabbing the seeker's head from behind him, he dragged Starscream out from underneath him, hurling him across the arena again. The seeker skidded painfully, scraping against the metal floor and making sparks fly behind him. He groaned in pain, then - came to the awful realization that he'd landed on his arms, which were now bent backwards and too painful to move.

"Give up yet?" Megatron hissed down at him.

"Never!" Starscream snarled stubbornly. Megatron slammed a foot down on his chest again, pinning the air commander to the floor.

"Now?" Megatron growled.

"_Never!"_ screeched the seeker.

With one last, mighty punch to the seeker's grey, bloody face, the tyrant leaned down to the near unconscious seeker, propping him up with one bulky arm. "Now?"

Starscream glared up at him, optics cracked, energon dripping from his mouth and nose. He opened his mouth, but no words came out - and then with a soft whine of his systems, fell unconscious.

"Starscream; knocked out," Soundwave announced. "Megatron; the winner."

The audience roared with excitement, the spell broken and the stadium shaking with noise and cheering. Megatron looked down at the air commander, still leaning against his arm limply, looking oddly peaceful despite the energon smeared all over his face. The silver tyrant grimaced, unsatisfied - until Starscream himself had conceded, it wasn't over. Hooking his other arm around the seeker's battered legs, he scooped the air commander up into his arms lovingly, looking down at the grey face sadly.

"Soundwave," he said lowly. The telepath nodded and followed him out of the stadium, the air commander like a broken doll in his arms.


	18. Chapter 18

Not the last chapter, but we're nearing the end now :D

* * *

"Hook! Where's Starscream? Is he okay?" Skywarp warped into the med-bay with a flash, Thundercracker hanging on to his trinemate and looking a bit queasy. Warping never got easier for the blue seeker.

"For THE LOVE OF PRIMUS, SKYWARP!" Hook roared, slamming down his wrench, "_How_ many times have I told you, you are _not_ allowed to just warp in here willy-nilly! One of us could be doing delicate work here!" He waved a welder at the seekers threateningly. "Starscream isn't here. Megatron walked out the arena with him and Soundwave. Maybe they're finally going to kill the little slagger, I don't know."

The two fliers looked at each other with worry.

"Now if you'll kindly warp back out, my brothers and I have a stadium to disassemble," growled the Constructicon, shooing them away.

* * *

Soundwave followed Megatron in silence, their footsteps heavy and echoing as they walked towards the Decepticon leader's quarters deep in the Nemesis. The telepath wasn't exactly sure what he was needed for - was Megatron planning on brainwashing Starscream? The air commander had stubbornly refused to concede Megatron's victory before he fell unconscious. Soundwave shuddered; Starscream's processor was _not_ the nicest of places to lurk around in, what with all the mental defences.

At last, they reached the heavy door of Megatron's quarters. The Decepticon commander made a gesture, and Soundwave quickly opened the door for him. As soon as he entered, Megatron headed for the berth, laying the battered flier down on it gently.

"Your orders, Megatron?" Soundwave droned. The gladiator looked up at him, considering the third in command for a moment before standing tall and walking over to the telepath with a smirk.

And then punched him, square in the jaw. The telepath reeled back, visor wide with confusion.

"_That_ was for refusing to renew the mental blocks when I asked you to," Megatron explained, cracking his knuckle-joints. "And _this,_" - he kicked the telepath in the shin hard enough to make the communications officer fall over - "is for setting Starscream and I up."

Soundwave groaned, looking up at his superior. For a moment, the thought crossed his mind to hit Megatron back, until his optics fell on the form of Starscream, bleeding and wounded on the berth. He stood, sighing. "Punishment; deserved. Your orders, Megatron."

"Give me that repair kit you carry around in your subspace," Megatron commanded, "the big one."

"As you command," droned the telepath, opening the pocket in his arm and pulling out the repair kit before handing it over.

"Dismissed," Megatron said approvingly. "I'll give this back to you later."

Soundwave nodded, and left.

* * *

It was warm and comfortable wherever he was - Starscream was thankful for this, because _everything_ hurt like the pit. He moaned softly, trying to bat away consciousness, shuffling further back into the warm, comfortable something. But the pain in his body refused to allow him to slip back into recharge, and eventually, he began to feel the light touches over his body, to hear the clink and clang of repair tools rummaging in his circuitry.

Ah, the med-bay. Had he been fighting Autobots? He didn't remember any battle plans being sent his way this week…maybe Megatron had beaten him up again. He vaguely remembered something about reports. Yes, now he thought about it, he was sure it was Megatron who had done this to him - but why? He groaned again, letting himself sink into the comfortable repair berth.

…Wait.

The berths in the med-bay? _Comfortable_? This wasn't the med-bay at all! Who was repairing him then, if it wasn't the Constructicons? Now he realized that the touches were far too gentle to be Hook, and he couldn't hear the Constructicons arguing with each other. With some effort, he managed to crack his optics open.

"Don't do that," rumbled Megatron.

_Megatron_? Megatron was fixing him? What on earth had happened!? He gulped, opening his mouth to ask.

"Don't speak, either," he rumbled again, gently. "Go back into recharge, Starscream. You need it."

Starscream shook his head a little, straining even to do even that. "Can't…" he rasped. "Hurts. What…happened?"

"We duelled, remember?" Megatron asked softly, running a handle along Starscream's helm gently.

The seeker frowned, optics closed. Yes…the duel…he remembered now. What had happened? His feet…Megatron had crushed his feet, then he'd landed on his arms and twisted them out of use. He must have lost. He sighed mournfully. "I…lost…didn't I?"

Megatron continued to stroke the seeker's cheek; Starscream found himself leaning into the touch. "Soundwave declared me the winner, yes. But…you haven't lost yet. Not until you admit you did," whispered the tyrant. "Sleep, Starscream. We can talk about it later."

"No," groaned the seeker, optics opening slightly. "No…I…lost…" He shuddered a little, pushing his face against the large, warm hand of Megatron, unusually comforting and gentle. "I…concede. You won me…fair and square."

"You're sure?" the gladiator whispered softly, hitching his intakes. "You'll…be my bondmate?"

"On…one condition," Starscream rasped, opening his optics fully to glare at the silver tyrant. Megatron looked down into the burning eyes of the air commander, spark pounding. "_Never_ hurt me in here…_never_ argue with me in here…in our quarters…I am your equal. If you…want to argue with me…take it outside. Only outside…you are my superior."

"Shhh," Megatron hushed the seeker, leaning down to speak into his audio units, "I won't hurt you anymore, Starscream. You promised you'd respect me, and I'll do the same for you."

Starscream smiled, then closed his optics. "Promise…me anyway…"

"I promise," Megatron rumbled, standing back up to continue his repairs with a smile. "No fighting in the house." The seeker smiled wider at this, seeming to settle a little, comfortable in the commander's bed. The two were silent for a while, the only noise coming from the tools piecing Starscream back together again, the occasional brush of metal against metal.

Suddenly, Starscream laughed - light and sleepy, unlike his usual screeching cackle.

"What's so funny?" Megatron asked, bewildered.

"You…" giggled the flier. "You say you can't process love, but…you're being…so gentle…so…loving."

"Loving?!" choked the tyrant.

"Don't be…upset about it," smirked Starscream. "I thought…I'd have to teach you…to be gentle, if I lost. To stop you…reacting to me with violence, but…you could do it all along…"

"I could?" Megatron scratched at his helmet, baffled. "I…I guess I could." He leaned his face closer to Starscream's, peering down into Starscream's weary optics curiously. "Then…I guess I can do this, too."

He kissed Starscream softly.

The seeker smiled.


	19. Chapter 19

I never know what to write here. Um...I love you for reading this! :D

* * *

The next time Starscream came back to consciousness, the pain was gone.

He rubbed at his optics sleepily, finding himself still in Megatron's bed. His turbine heels were repaired, the cuts and bruises all over him gone, his optics no longer cracked. The air commander looked about the room, finding the Decepticon leader sleeping in his personal throne. _Stupid slagger_, Starscream thought to himself, noticing that Megatron hadn't yet repaired himself.

Pushing himself off the berth, taking a few experimental steps to check that the Decepticon commander had fixed his turbines correctly, the seeker spotted Soundwave's repair kit lying open still on the floor. He bent down, picking up a few choice tools, before walking towards his leader.

As lightly as he could, Starscream placed himself on top of Megatron's lap, delicate as a feather. The gladiator stirred a little, before sighing in his sleep and settling back into recharge. The seeker ran a blue finger along one of the larger cuts he'd inflicted during their duel - it was bizarre to think they'd promised not to fight ever again. Lifting up the welding tool, the flier began his task.

Cut by cut, wound by wound, the metal was sealed back together carefully, wires reconnected and circuits reattached. The burn marks on Megatron's chest from Starscream's turbine kick were harder to get rid of - the metal had to be smoothed down and painted over several times before the evidence of their duel was finally gone.

Megatron muttered to himself in his sleep, legs shifting in protest against the weight on his lap. Starscream stopped his systems for a moment to see if the tyrant would wake - but, when he didn't, he turned his attention to Megatron's broken nose. Pulling spare plating out of his subspace pockets, the seeker began to reconstruct it, keeping the welder on its lowest setting so not to wake the sleeping gladiator.

Even asleep, the commander had a huge presence in the room - his body alone was much larger than Starscream's, all bulk and strength where the flier was curves and aerodynamics. Something shifted in the seeker's processor, and Starscream stared at the face he was repairing for a moment. Harsh and ugly, but still, there was a strange charm to it - something powerful and raw, in stark contrast to the handsome features of the flier. The air commander angled his wings upwards with a sense of distant excitement, leaning that bit closer as he continued his work.

At last, Megatron's face was perfect once again - or as perfect as it ever got, angular and aged as he was. Starscream grinned, planting a kiss on the newly repaired nose.

"Ngghh…" The tyrant stirred again. Starscream pouted - his future bondmate sure was a heavy sleeper. He kissed the angled nose again, following it up to closed optics, a kiss on frowning optic ridges, down along his cheek and on his jaw.

"Don't stop…" Megatron mumbled sleepily, optics finally opening ever so slightly. "Don't…wait…Starscream!?" Optics wide in shock, the Decepticon commander abruptly came back to full consciousness, looking down at the seeker on his lap.

"Good morning to you too," smirked the flier, leaning forward and pressing his glass canopy against the tyrant's silver chest to continue kissing along the sharp jaw.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Megatron, looking a little uncomfortable and stiffening his body as the kisses began to trail down his neck.

"You don't like it?" Starscream paused, sitting up to meet the larger mech's optics.

"No, I…it feels…strange," Megatron choked. "I'm not used to waking up with anything other than a hangover."

The seeker smiled, leaning forwards to rest against the broad, grey chest. Gradually, Megatron relaxed, daring to snake his arms around the flier and squeeze him tightly, pulling him as close as he physically could.

"Not too tight," Starscream chided. "You'll break my cockpit." Unhappily, Megatron loosened his grip - hugging was more complicated than he had thought. Starscream smiled up at him again, chuckling. "Too loose, now. The same as before, just a _little_ bit looser." Megatron nodded, gripping the flier firmly again. The seeker nodded in satisfaction, wrapping his own arms around the gladiator's waist. Sighing in contentment, he nuzzled his face against Megatron's shoulder.

The two sat, silent, still, allowing each other to become used to the other's presence. Eventually, Megatron began to stroke Starscream's back lightly - the seeker had liked it when he stroked his face earlier. Starscream purred in response, nudging his face against Megatron's neck with a light kiss.

"Have you really never held anyone like this before?" he asked softly, keeping his face against the warm neck of the tyrant.

"Never," Megatron confessed. "I've…had partners before, but never for longer than a night. I only accepted them to work off frustration or energy - I was always rough, because I didn't care about them."

Starscream nodded, letting his fingers wander along the red-edged waist of the tyrant. Megatron leaned his head downwards to rest his cheek against the seeker's helm, whispering softly. "It's nice…holding you, I mean…"

"Mm," Starscream hummed, a wicked smirk forming on his features. "I can show you _lots_ of nice things."

Taking the seeker's jaw with one hand, Megatron turned his face upwards, rumbling low in his throat before kissing him. "I don't doubt that."

* * *

Soundwave ambled along the corridors of the Nemesis, grumbling to himself. That punch in the face had been more serious than he realized, but he hadn't noticed just how serious until he looked behind himself to see a trail of fresh energon. Looking down at his chest, he saw his own energon spattered on his tape-deck, leaking down from his jaw, and sighed irritably. How had he been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see _that_?

At the end of the corridor he'd been walking down, Skywarp and Thundercracker turned around the corner, stopping as soon as they saw the third in command covered in energon.

"OH PRIMUS IN HEAVEN!" screeched the purple flier. "HOOK WAS RIGHT! You and Megatron…you killed Starscream for good this time, didn't you!? THAT'S STARSCREAM'S BLOOD ON YOU, ISN'T IT!?" Thundercracker went pale next to him, mouth agape.

Soundwave scratched his head in confusion, then suddenly realized what Skywarp was accusing him of. "Negative!" he retorted, synthesized voice holding a rare edge of panic. "Negative," he repeated, then quickly explained, "Megatron; punched me. Reason; revenge. Repair kit; with Megatron. Leader's status; repairing Starscream."

Thundercracker leant against the wall, sighing in relief. "Slagging pit, Soundwave! You scared the circuits out of us!"

"Apologies offered," Soundwave droned, then hurriedly passed them and turned down the corridor to find his sparklings. Away from the optics of the other Decepticons, Skywarp threw himself into Thundercracker's arms, seeking comfort from his lover.

"Do you think…so they'll really…bond?" the blue seeker asked, looking down at the shaking form in his arms.

"I don't know. I need some high-grade or something. Soundwave really scared me there!" Skywarp mumbled, burying his face in Thundercracker's neck.

"Hey! Speaking of which," Thundercracker remembered suddenly, pushing Skywarp away to look him in the face, "I put a bet on Starscream and Megatron fighting without cheating. Swindle owes me a _lot_ of cubes. Let's go get them, and then you can get as drunk as you want tonight, I promise."

Skywarp looked at him, surprised, before his face broke out into a huge grin. "Man, TC, I really love you. You know that?"

"I know," Thundercracker replied smugly, leading his partner down the corridor towards Swindle's quarters.


	20. Chapter 20

Well, my muse has left me. This is going to be the last chapter, everyone. I hope you've enjoyed it and that the ending satisfies you ;) I made it a bit longer than usual to finish with a bang :p Warning - this chapter is much slashier than the others have been. You might need to have read "Megatron Origins" to understand one part of this chapter, but it isn't too important.

* * *

"And that about finishes it, I guess," Starscream ended his report, sitting in his usual spot in the war room with Megatron and Soundwave. The silver tyrant nodded, looking towards Soundwave.

"Very well then," he rumbled, "as we discussed, you'll be in charge for the next three days, Soundwave. Keep an eye on Skywarp, he kept mentioning parties. And for Primus' sake, keep an optic on your sparklings too, I don't want them causing havoc while Starscream and I are gone. No more match-making, please."

"Of course, Megatron," Soundwave droned, hiding a smirk behind his facemask.

"That closes this meeting, then," Megatron said, standing up and subspacing the reports on the table. Soundwave nodded, turning on his heel and exiting the war room while Starscream subspaced his own datapads.

"Remind me again why we're taking three days off?" the seeker asked with false innocence, knowing the answer full well.

The gladiator smiled, taking Starscream's chin between his fingers and tilting the dark face upwards to meet his optics. "We have unfinished business to attend to, my dear second. Come along, now." The seeker grinned, a wicked glint in his optics, standing to follow the Decepticon commander down to his - no, _their_ quarters.

Passing down through several levels, it was only when they reached the floor housing Megatron's personal quarters that the gladiator took the blue hand of Starscream in his larger black one, squeezing it too tightly as usual, though the seeker didn't have the spark to tell him so. He lead the flier through the various traps that had once been anti-Starscream devices, now modified to be anti-everyone-else. The order had been clear - no interruptions for the next three days. Most of the troops had been told that the two high-ranking Decepticons were travelling to Cybertron to deal with Shockwave.

Pausing outside the heavy door to their rooms, Megatron stopped suddenly, turning to peer at Starscream. He squeezed the blue hand tighter, nervously, but again, Starscream didn't protest. He'd only learnt how to hold hands yesterday - there was all the time in the world to teach him not to hold hands so hard.

"Starscream…" Megatron swallowed hard. "Do you remember when you said you wouldn't believe…uh, what it was Soundwave said until I said it myself?"

The seeker nodded, smiling gently, sensing where this was going. Megatron took the other blue hand in his free one, stepping closer to Starscream, the air from his nervous vents brushing against the flier's canopy. The air commander hitched his intakes expectantly. "This is…you know this is difficult for me, Starscream," Megatron continued, voice low and soft. "I…I want you to know that…I really…for a long time, I've…"

"You don't have to say it now," Starscream whispered gently. "We have time."

"No," growled the tyrant, more to himself than Starscream. "I need you to hear it. I need you to believe it. I l…I really lo…luhhh…I…gah!" The seeker tried not to laugh, smiling widely at Megatron struggling. "I…Ireallyloveyou! _There_! I really love you, Starscream."

The flier leaned forward, lifting himself up on his toes to kiss Megatron softly. The tyrant eagerly responded, before breaking away to speak again. "I know that you loved me once, too, a long time ago. And I hope I can make you fall in love with me again."

Starscream laughed, light and gentle, leaning his helm against the broad silver chest of the gladiator. "You big, stupid slagger," he sighed, "I never stopped loving you."

Megatron wrapped his arms around the seeker possessively, spark pounding in his chest. "Then bond with me. Be my sparkmate, like you promised."

"Of course," breathed the air commander, lips brushing against those of the tyrant. Still holding him close, Megatron reached an arm over to open the door, leading the seeker into their quarters. Starscream gasped.

"What on Cybertron - ?!"

"Do you like it?" Megatron grinned, gesturing at their quarters. Next to his large, silver throne was a smaller one, perfectly sized for the seeker with lower arm rests to accommodate his wings. Propped up on what had been Megatron's writing table was the datapad with the photograph of Megatron and Starscream on the day of his promotion to second in command displayed proudly - all these years, the gladiator had kept a copy for himself! Opposite the door to the washrooms was a new door, open just enough that Starscream could see his lab equipment had been moved into their quarters. The cupboard had been enlarged, now housing the trinkets Starscream had kept in his own quarters along with spare null rays next to the fusion cannon parts. Then there was the berth - big enough for two the size of Megatron.

"I gave Soundwave your old quarters. I hope you don't mind?" Megatron questioned.

"Well, _I_ certainly won't be needing them anymore," Starscream said appreciatively, still in shock at how quickly Megatron had managed to have his quarters renovated by the Constructicons. "It's…it's perfect!"

"Excellent," the commander rumbled, walking up behind the flier to snake his arms around the white waist. "Now, what say we take off our weapons?" Starscream nodded, hastily removing his null rays and placing them in the cupboard next to the spares. Megatron unlatched the fusion cannon, passing it to the flier to put away - a symbolic gesture in itself, since he'd once beaten the Coneheads up just for going near it. The cannon was heavier than Starscream remembered it being when he first gave it to the gladiator - probably modified now to better suit the Decepticon.

Starscream turned around, looking at Megatron expectantly. A predator-like expression flickered over the silver gladiator's face as he sloped over to the flier, taking the blue hands once again and leading him to the berth.

"You'll have to tell me when I'm too rough," the tyrant rumbled, a hint of apology in his vocalizer. "I'm not used to being nice."

"Who said I didn't like it a little rough?" the flier smirked. Megatron bared his teeth in a wicked smile, and happily shoved the seeker down onto the berth where Starscream landed with a loud clang.

"Like this?" Megatron growled, crawling on his hands and knees to loom over his prey.

"Just like that," Starscream purred, pulling Megatron down to kiss him, far more passionately than he had before. The engines of the larger mech rumbled contentedly, kissing back, daring to graze the dark lips of the seeker with his teeth. Starscream parted his lips, inviting his new lover to explore his mouth deeper; Megatron eagerly began to seek the tongue of the flier with his own, flicking at it cautiously before tugging at it gently.

Drawing back, Megatron began to kiss Starscream's jaw, all along until he reached his chin, down his neck to the sensitive wires held there. Letting instinct guide him, he began to suck the more delicate cables lightly, eliciting a gasp from Starscream. The seeker pulled him down on top of him completely, allowing the weight of the gladiator to pin him to the berth. Pleased by this reaction, Megatron sucked harder, scraping with his teeth gently, teasing the wires between his dental plating. Starscream squirmed beneath him, digging sharp blue fingers into the tyrant's back. He twisted his head a little, trying to lick the silver helm attacking his neck.

Megatron raised his head, tugging at the tongue that had been flicking at him with his lips. Carefully, Starscream pulled the tyrant's helmet off, placing it next to the berth gently. The gladiator looked down at him for a moment, admiring the sight below him, while the flier raised his hands to the miner's plating Megatron usually kept hidden. He stroked them, waking long dormant sensors and teasing a groan from Megatron - it felt good to stretch those plates after so many centuries under that helmet.

Again, he descended to Starscream's neck while the flier continued to play with his crown. The gladiator dipped lower to nip at red vents, orange canopy, white waist, while Starscream tangled his legs around the gladiator's torso, arching his back happily, digging his fingers deeper to tease underneath the silver plating of the warrior. Megatron growled, eagerly pushing into the touches, baring his teeth dangerously.

The Decepticon commander moved his attention to the white, striped wings beneath him, tracing the Decepticon symbol embellished there possessively. Dragging a finger up and down the edges, Starscream moaned, arching again, while Megatron leaned down to lick at the subtle joints and sensor circuits spread over them. The seeker shrieked, bucking violently; the gladiator grinned to himself, pleased to be able to cause such a reaction on his first try and being gentle.

He allowed himself to be a little rougher, digging his hands into the metal sheets comprising the wings beneath him. The seeker lived up to his name, screaming, without the pain that used to come with Megatron's touches, but instead with pleasure. Reaching his arms around the tyrant's torso, he dug his hands under whatever plating he could find, fingers tickling wires and circuits. The commander shuddered, turning to bury his face against Starscream's neck again.

"Starscream…" he breathed, vents whining with effort.

Wordlessly, the seeker understood, and the glass canopy retracted to reveal his cockpit. As gently as he could with his large, black fingers, Megatron moved to explore the flier's chest, looking for the clasp that would reveal his spark chamber. Starscream dragged a finger down the large, silver chest above him, and the commander complied, opening his chest plates to reveal his closed spark chamber. The seeker allowed a satisfied smile to linger on his features as black fingers continued to probe deeper into his cockpit, making him shiver imperceptibly.

At last, Megatron's finger brushed over the clasp, and Starscream shuddered. With a push, the cockpit transformed, folding back into the seeker's body to reveal his spark chamber. The tyrant could feel the energy of the seeker whirling just below the surface, tantalizingly. Starscream pawed at the gladiator's own spark chamber, purring impatiently. Megatron chuckled, allowing the blue hands to open his spark chamber first - the air commander gasped as the bright, red orb was revealed, lighting up his dark features. Pushing back the plates of the seeker's spark chamber, Megatron looked down at Starscream's spark approvingly running his finger along the edge of it, dragging a shriek from the flier's vocalizer.

"Megatron," he rasped, optics burning up at the tyrant.

"Show me," whispered Megatron, lowering himself down slowly, lips brushing against Starscream's, "what love really is, Starscream."

Taking the flier's lips with his own, the Decepticon closed the gap between their sparks, merging their life-forces into one.

* * *

Megatron came online, moaning, body still reverberating with pleasure. Gentle hands were stroking his head, and he opened his optics to see Starscream's looking down at him with a lazy smile, content, basking in the afterglow of their merge. It was more than just _seeing_ the contentment on the flier's face - he could _feel_ it, alive and vibrant, Starscream's own spark living in his just as Megatron's spark lived in that of the flier's. He reached out experimentally, feeling Starscream respond easily, tendrils of self wrapping around his consciousness.

He nuzzled his face into Starscream's neck, kissing it softly.

Something felt different now - instead of feeling like space barnacles were crawling over him, his circuits felt like they were tingling quietly. Where before there had been an uneasiness in his processor, there was a sense of relaxation and ease, as if he suddenly knew what to do with the feelings coming from his spark. Letting himself bask in the warmth he now felt, tangled together with Starscream, he looked at his emotional processing unit, wondering if his hunch was right.

And there, nestled amongst his other programming, was a new folder of incredibly complex mathematical instructions, labelled very simply,

"Love".


End file.
